More Than 15 Explosions in 20 Minutes Rock Occupied Crimea Amid Power Outages

More than 15 explosions were reported near Simferopol in Russian-occupied Crimea within approximately 20 minutes early on Aug. 21 amid reported drone activity across the peninsula. Russian-controlled utilities subsequently reported damage to energy infrastructure and power outages in several cities.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The activity was reported by the monitoring Telegram channel Crimean Wind, which cited eyewitness accounts and local reports. Russia’s Investigative Committee claimed that two people had been killed and three others injured in the Simferopol district. It also reported one person injured in the Saky district and a mother and child injured in Sevastopol. The Ukrainian authorities had not commented on those claims at the time of publication, and Kyiv Post could not independently verify them. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Kremlin-installed head of Sevastopol, claimed that Russian air defenses had intercepted 19 drones. He provided no evidence supporting the figure. Timeline of Reported Activity According to Crimean Wind and eyewitness reports: 1:16 a.m. – More than 15 explosions were reported in Simferopol within approximately 20 minutes. 1:32 a.m. – Another series of explosions was reported in the Simferopol district. 1:58 a.m. – Bright flashes, explosions and gunfire were reported near the Tavriyska Thermal Power Plant. 2:04 a.m. – Jet-powered drones were reportedly seen flying over Simferopol toward the power plant. Other Topics of Interest Ukrainian Drones Hit Major Lukoil Refinery, Military Airfield as Russia Claims 325 UAVs Downed Zelensky also reported a strike on Russia’s Marynovka military airfield, while earlier attacks damaged a Su-34 and a drone-launch facility. 2:45 a.m. – An explosion was reported near the village of Radyanske. 3:05 a.m. – Drones were reportedly seen flying east over Vilino. 3:11 a.m. – Another explosion was reported in Simferopol. 3:25 a.m. – A Russian mobile fire group reportedly opened fire on drones near Alushta. 4:50 a.m. – An explosion was reported in Sevastopol. An air-raid alert was issued two minutes later. The reports could not be independently verified. The Ukrainian military had not commented on the reported attack or its targets at the time of publication. Power Outages Reported Across Crimea The Russian-controlled utility Krymenergo said several settlements had lost power following what it described as mass Ukrainian attacks on the peninsula’s energy infrastructure. The company said workers were assessing the damage and attempting to isolate affected sections of the electricity network. It did not identify the facilities that had allegedly been damaged. The partisan movement Atesh reported “mass power outages” in Sevastopol, Dzhankoy and Simferopol. According to Suspilne Crimea, Russian-controlled Sevastopolenergo introduced a “two through six” electricity schedule, under which consumers receive power for approximately two hours before losing it for up to six hours. Consumers were divided into four groups, with electricity restored to each group in rotation. Traffic Builds at Crimean Bridge Separately, Suspilne Crimea reported that traffic began building on the Crimean side of the Crimean Bridge at approximately 8 a.m. By 1 p.m., 650 vehicles were waiting to leave the occupied peninsula, with an estimated waiting time of more than two hours. “There is no queue in front of the manual inspection point from the Taman side. There are 650 vehicles in the queue for manual inspection from the Kerch side. The waiting time is more than two hours,” the Russian-controlled road information center reported. Peninsula-Wide Blackout Reported a Day Earlier The latest outages came one day after a peninsula-wide blackout was reported across occupied Crimea. According to Suspilne Crimea, electricity went out across Simferopol, Sevastopol, Kerch, Feodosia, Yalta and other parts of the peninsula early on Aug. 20. Before the blackout, Feodosia residents reported hearing three drones, gunfire from Russian mobile fire groups and three explosions near the Kafa electrical substation. A jet-powered drone was also reportedly seen flying over the Leninsky district toward Kerch. Crimean Wind subsequently reported a complete loss of electricity across the peninsula. Satellite imagery cited by the channel showed a fire at the 500-kilovolt Taman electrical substation in Russia, a key component of the energy bridge connecting Russia’s Krasnodar region with occupied Crimea. The Kafa and Malorechenska substations in Crimea may also have been struck, according to preliminary reports. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.