Service member reportedly killed in explosion in Russian-occupied Sevastopol

A man was killed in an explosion in the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol on the morning of 13 August. The explosive device was likely planted in a bin.

Source: Russian media outlet ASTRA; ChP/Sevastopol, a local Telegram channel; Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency TASS, citing Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB)

Details: The explosion occurred on Stoletovsky Avenue. Russian news outlets report that the man was walking down some steps with a friend when the explosion happened. He died at the scene from his injuries.

Early reports indicate that the explosive device was planted in a bin near a bench.

Pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash also claims that a woman with a backpack, who was allegedly watching the man, may have been involved in the explosion.

Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels are widely circulating claims that the man killed may be Robert Shahieiev, deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet's 4th Separate Submarine Brigade. He was previously an officer in the Ukrainian Navy before switching sides to Russia following the occupation of the peninsula.

There has been no official confirmation of this version of events.

Update: The FSB has said the man killed in the explosion in occupied Sevastopol was a service member of Russia's Defence Ministry.

A Russian woman, 32, has been detained on suspicion of involvement in the explosion, the security agency added.

The FSB claims she was acting on the orders of Ukrainian intelligence services.

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