Sky News has been told by a senior Ukrainian official that Ukrainian Special Forces carried out the operation on a Russian airbase in Crimea yesterday.

One person was killed in a series of blasts at the air base close to seaside resorts on the annexed peninsula on Tuesday.

Videos posted on social media showed people fleeing a beach as flames and pillars of smoke rose up from multiple locations. Witnesses also reported a fire on a runway and damage to nearby homes, Crimea Today News said on Telegram.

Crimea’s health department said one civilian had been killed, while another person had been treated in hospital for moderate injuries and a further five suffered minor wounds.