Two Russian towns were evacuated on Thursday due to a fire that broke out in an ammunition depot near the border with Ukraine, local authorities said.
The fire came days after several explosions at a military base and ammunition depot on the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia since 2014.
“An ammunition warehouse caught fire near the town of Timonovo”, located less than 50 km from the Ukrainian border, in the Russian province of Belgorod, regional governor Viacheslav Gladkov said in a statement.
No casualties were reported, but the inhabitants of Timonovo and the neighboring town of Soloti were “displaced to a safe distance”, it added, explaining that an investigation into the causes of the incident had been opened.
In a video published on social networks, a huge ball of fire is seen from which a dark smoke emanates. In another video, several successive explosions can be seen in the distance.
In early August, an explosion of ammunition destined for the Russian air force near the Saki military airfield in Crimea caused one death and several injuries.
Days later, explosions were reported at a Crimean ammunition depot, which Russia blamed on an act of “sabotage” by Ukraine.
On Thursday night, Russian forces shot down a drone near the airport in Sevastopol, Crimea’s main city and a base for Moscow’s Black Sea fleet, local authorities said.
And shortly before, Kremlin troops activated anti-aircraft defenses near the city of Kerch, also in Crimea, where a bridge connecting the peninsula with Russian territory is located, a regional official told Russian state agencies.
Since the Russian offensive in Ukraine began in late February, the Russian government has repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out bombing raids on its territory, especially in the Belgorod region.
Last month, several missiles hit the city of Belgorod – capital of the province – and caused four deaths, according to local authorities.
In early April, the regional governor accused Ukraine of having bombed a Belgorod fuel depot from two helicopters.
