The bombing took place in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, which was annexed by Russia to Ukraine in 2014, and happened on the day of the Russian Navy Day celebration, and there were no claims of an attack.
However, the small-scale attack and improvised method led officials to believe it was the work of Ukrainian rebels trying to drive out Russian forces.
Following the explosion, Crimean authorities raised the terror threat level for the region to “yellow”, the second-highest level.
However, Olga Kovidy, a Russian member of parliament from Crimea, told Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti that no decision could be made until the investigation was completed.
Meanwhile, one of Ukraine’s richest grain merchants and his wife were killed today during Russian bombing of the southern city of Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian officials say the Russian missile strike was “passionately aimed at his home”.
Today, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, established new red lines westward in the Black, Baltic and Arctic seas by endorsing a new naval doctrine affected by geopolitical changes caused by the war in Ukraine.
Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine in February that has killed more than 5,100 civilians, according to the UN, which warns that the true number could be much higher.
The Russian invasion was generally condemned by the international community, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and strengthening economic and political sanctions on Moscow.
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