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Large explosion at Russian ammunition depot east of Moscow | Large explosion at Russian ammunition depot east of Moscow |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The blasts occurred at a large ammunition depot in western Russia | The blasts occurred at a large ammunition depot in western Russia |
Explosions have taken place at a Russian ammunition depot east of Moscow, the country's defence ministry has said. | |
The blasts occurred in an ammunition warehouse at a defence facility in the western Vladimir region on Tuesday. The site is believed to be a key ammunition storage site for the Russian army. | |
Russia's military blamed the blast on ammunition which had detonated after the storage building caught fire due to a "violation of safety requirements". | |
A state of emergency has been declared in the Kirzhach district and residents of nearby villages have been evacuated. | A state of emergency has been declared in the Kirzhach district and residents of nearby villages have been evacuated. |
Both Russian and Ukrainian media channels and Telegram accounts posted videos and pictures from the site, showing a raging blaze with metres-high flames and mushroom clouds from the explosion. | Both Russian and Ukrainian media channels and Telegram accounts posted videos and pictures from the site, showing a raging blaze with metres-high flames and mushroom clouds from the explosion. |
In a statement, Russia's Ministry of Defence said: "[On Tuesday], as a result of a fire on the territory of a military unit in the Vladimir region, ammunition stored in a warehouse detonated. | |
"The cause of the fire is a violation of safety requirements when working with explosive materials." | |
It added that there had been no casualties. A commission has been set up to investigate the incident. | |
The site is a facility in the 51st Arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, some 130 kilometres (80 miles) north-east of the Russian capital, local media reported. | |
Russian media reported one resident in a village close to the site had witnessed a shell from the warehouse falling on a neighbour's house. The shell did not explode and no one was home at the time, Tass state news agency reported. | |
The governor of the Vladimir region has said a blast had occurred in the district and more details would be released later. | |
Alexander Avdeyev also threatened journalists and residents with fines if they shared unofficial information about the blast. | Alexander Avdeyev also threatened journalists and residents with fines if they shared unofficial information about the blast. |