Ukrainian MP Kira Rudyk: I'm absolutely sure one day Crimea will be part of independent Ukraine

In an interview for TVN24 reporter Michał Sznajder, member of Ukrainian parliament Kira Rudyk said that the series of blasts on which had occurred on Tuesday were an important sign for Ukraine and the world that Crimea was not a lost cause.

Asked by Sznajder exactly what had happened on Tuesday, Rudyk replied: "Well, there was an explosion and peaceful Russians who were having their vacations felt what it feels (like) for Ukraine and the Ukrainians in the last six months – when you don’t do anything wrong and then there are explosions that terrify you, and threaten you and your wellbeing".

"I think that it’s an incredibly good sign that nobody will be unpunished," she stressed.

Asked about the Ukrainian government’s denial to to take responsibility for the Crimea attack, Rudyk said: "We cannot confirm nor deny this statement".

She called the explosions an "incredibly important" incident. "This event happened on the Day of Indigenous Nations (International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2022 – edit.), which includes Crimean Tatars who want to return Crimea to themselves, and it was incredibly important to remind that Crimea is Ukraine and one day it will return to us. You can’t even imagine what happened in Ukraine when we have seen this footage," Rudyk added.

"It was a sign of hope and a sign that evil will be punished," she underscored.

Asked if she and her fellow Ukrainians had lost hope that the peninsula could even be regained, the Ukrainian MP replied: "At some point, yes. You know, we have seen maps where Crimea was already painted and marked as part of Russia". "However, in Ukraine we never ever doubted and never ever gave up on Crimea, because it’s part of our legacy, our Ukrainian people live there, and I’m absolutely sure that one day Crimea will regain itself as part of independent Ukraine. I’m absolutely sure," Kira Rudyk stressed.

One person was killed on Tuesday when a Russian air base near seaside resorts in the annexed Crimean peninsula was rocked by blasts that Moscow said were detonations of stored ammunition, not the result of any attack.

Witnesses said they had heard at least 12 explosions around 3:20 p.m. local time (1220 GMT) from the Saky air base near Novofedorivka on the west coast of the peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 and used in February as one of the launchpads for its invasion.

Crimea, a holiday destination for many Russians, has so far been spared the bombardment and artillery combat that other areas of eastern and southern Ukraine have suffered.

Russia's defence ministry was adamant the "detonation of several aviation ammunition stores" had caused an explosion, and initially said no one had been harmed. It said there had been no attack and no aviation equipment had been damaged.

Asked whether Ukraine was taking responsibility for the blasts, presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told the Dozhd online television channel: "Of course not. What do we have to do with this?"

Podolyak, who advises President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, suggested the blast could be down to Russian incompetence or an attack by partisans.

"People who are living under occupation understand that the occupation is coming to an end," he said.

Russian news agencies quoted an unnamed ministry source as saying "only a violation of fire safety requirements is considered as the main reason for the explosion of several ammunition stores at the Saky airfield."

"There are no signs, evidence or, even less, facts (to indicate) a deliberate impact on ammunition stores," the source was quoted as saying.

Crimea's health department said one civilian had been killed and another eight injured.

Zelenskiy did not specifically mention the blasts in an evening video address but said it was right that people were focusing on Crimea.

"The Black Sea region cannot be safe while Crimea is occupied," he said, reiterating Kyiv's position that Crimea would have to be returned to Ukraine.