Satellite images appear to show extensive damage and several destroyed Russian warplanes at a Crimea airbase following explosions earlier this week, writes BBC.

The Saky base in the west of Russian-ruled Crimea was rocked by a string of blasts on Tuesday, killing one person. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility - but this new evidence suggests the possibility of a targeted attack.

The images, from the US-based Planet Labs, show large areas of scorched earth left from fires that erupted.

The base"s main runways seem to be intact, but at least eight aircraft appear to be damaged and destroyed, with several craters clearly visible. Most of them are in a specific area of the base where a large number of planes were parked out in the open - away from the cover of hangars.

The before and after images from Planet Labs, which monitors hundreds of satellite feeds over Ukraine, are the first independent confirmation that the base may have been damaged. Until now, details about the extent of the explosions" impact have been scarce.

But it is still not clear how the base was damaged or by what.

Russia insists that the explosions were caused by ammunition exploding in a store because of fire safety rules being flouted. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility - and its defence minister suggested that careless Russian soldiers could be to blame.