In a disturbing turn of events, a Russian military airfield in Crimea has been engulfed in flames for the second night in a row, following consecutive long-range strikes by Ukraine on the Russian-controlled peninsula. Reports indicate that the Belbek airfield, located near the port city of Sevastopol on Crimea's western edge, is once again ablaze, according to independent news outlet Astra.

Although the details of the fire cannot be verified at this time, grainy footage shared by Astra seems to confirm the presence of a fire. Furthermore, data from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) reveals multiple fires in the area surrounding the Belbek airfield within the past 24 hours.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released a statement asserting that Ukrainian forces deployed U.S.-provided Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) long-range missiles against unspecified facilities on the peninsula. The attack reportedly occurred at approximately 11 p.m. Moscow time on Wednesday night, with Russian air defenses successfully intercepting and "destroying" five missiles over Crimea.

Influential Russian military bloggers have also reported a second night of Ukrainian strikes on Sevastopol, with one account suggesting that up to 12 long-range missiles were fired towards the city. Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its air defenses had intercepted 10 ATACMS missiles over Crimea overnight.

Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, confirmed the Ukrainian attacks, claiming that Russian air defenses had "repelled a massive attack" on Sevastopol, including several missiles aimed at the Belbek airfield. In a separate statement, Razvozhaev stated that the Russian military had successfully "repelled" another Ukrainian assault on the port city.

The pro-Ukrainian partisan movement, ATESH, operating in Crimea, revealed that the main artillery warehouse at the Belbek airfield had been damaged, potentially compromising the missiles used by Russian jets to launch attacks on Ukraine.

This recent escalation in attacks on Crimea comes as Kyiv continues its efforts to reclaim the territory, which has been under Moscow's control for a decade. Military installations, such as the Belbek air base, have become prime targets for Ukrainian strikes.

It is worth noting that the United States has provided Ukraine with batches of ATACMS missiles in recent years. Initially, Washington supplied shorter-range cluster variants in the fall of 2023 and later authorized the delivery of a "significant number of ATACMS missiles" in February this year, allowing Ukraine to strike key Russian assets beyond the front lines.

Mikhail Razvozhaev cautioned residents of Sevastopol to stay away from any fragments of undetonated submunitions that may have landed in the city as a result of the ATACMS strikes.

This latest incident at the Belbek airfield follows an earlier attack in late January, when a Ukrainian strike destroyed a Russian bunker, as assessed by British intelligence earlier this year. As tensions persist in the region, the situation in Crimea remains highly volatile.

Newsweek has reached out to the Ukrainian military for comment on the recent developments.