A shipment of Russian cruise missiles has been destroyed in Russia-occupied Crimea, officials from Ukraine’s defence ministry have said.
“An explosion in the city of Dzhankoy in the north of the temporarily occupied Crimea destroyed the Russian Kalibr NK cruise missiles during their transportation by rail,” the ministry said, though it did not claim responsibility for the attack on Russia’s stockpile.
The explosion, if confirmed, is the first such Ukrainian attack on Russian munitions on Crimean soil.
It comes as Vladimir Putin met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for two days of talks in Moscow.
Mr Putin greeted China’s Mr Xi at the Kremlin yesterday, with the two presidents calling each other “dear friend” as they shook hands at the outset of the latter’s first state visit to Moscow in four years.
The high-level diplomatic visit comes just days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Mr Putin’s arrest over war crimes in Ukraine.
The pair held informal one-on-one talks yesterday as well as enjoying a seven-course state banquet, and will today hold further discussions involving their full delegations.
