The attack on a train carrying Russian missiles / VOA: Kiev and Moscow, contradictory statements on the explosion in Dzhankoi, Crimea

Russian and Ukrainian officials issued conflicting statements on Tuesday over an attack on a train carrying Russian missiles being delivered to the occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

A spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military said that Kiev was behind the explosion that occurred on Monday night, which reportedly destroyed several Kalibr missiles, near the town of Dzhankoi in northern Crimea, without giving further details.

The spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern operational command, Natalia Humeniuk, described the attack as a signal to Russia that it should leave Crimea, a region Moscow seized in 2014.

A vague statement from Ukraine's military intelligence agency on Monday said a large number of anti-submarine missiles being transported by train had been destroyed, but did not say whether Ukraine was responsible or what weapon was used in the attack.

However, the agency hinted that Kiev was behind the explosion, saying that the event spurs "Russia's demilitarization process and is preparing the liberation of Crimea, a peninsula of Ukraine."

But Moscow-installed authorities in Crimea offered a different version of the story on Tuesday, saying Ukrainian drones had attacked civilian facilities in Dzhankoi. Sergei Aksenov, the Kremlin's top official in Crimea, said the attack left one civilian wounded but caused no serious damage.

Mr Aksenov's adviser, Oleg Kryuchkov, rejected Kiev's claims and said the Ukrainian drones had targeted residential areas and not the railway. Igor Ivin, head of the local administration in Dzhankoi, said the attack damaged power lines, a house, a shop and a college building. Unconfirmed reports on social media circulating late Monday night said Russia's anti-aircraft systems had shot down a large number of drones over Crimea. However, none of the statements or announcements could be verified by independent sources.

Since the beginning of the war, there have been reports of attacks on Russian military bases and other infrastructure facilities in Crimea, but Ukraine, although it welcomes them, rarely takes responsibility clearly./VOA