Residents of two Russian villages in the Belgorod region, near the border with Ukraine, said late Thursday after a massive fire hit a nearby ammunition depot. , were forced to evacuate, officials said.
No casualties were reported in the fire, according to his Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Belgorod.
Residents of Timxonovo and Soloti, his two villages in southern Russia just 15 km apart, were taken to a safe distance by the district chief, the governor said in a Telegram message. said in
Emergency services are on site and the cause of the fire is under investigation, the governor said.
Preliminary footage of the ammunition depot showed thick white smoke rising from the depot after the detonation.
The video also showed several fire engines parked near the blast site.
Kyiv did not immediately issue a statement on the explosions, following a series of explosions at an ammunition depot in Crimea on Tuesday.
More than 3,000 people were evacuated after her second attack, a suspected Ukrainian attack on the Russian-held peninsula.
Russian officials blamed "sabotage" for the explosions, but did not directly blame Ukraine.
Kyiv officials have not publicly claimed responsibility for any of the blasts, including last week's powerful explosion at a Crimean air base that destroyed nine Russian aircraft.
Moscow later said the explosion was caused by an accident.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pointed to attacks behind enemy lines in a video address on Tuesday night, calling for individuals "against the occupiers in the rear" to
The president also warned people at the same video address to stay away from Russian military installations and ammunition and equipment storage sites.
Nearly six months after the invasion of Ukraine. , butRussia has failed to make significant progress in the country, despite making sizable gains in the country's east since last month.
The front lines of war have remained static for weeks.
Kyiv officials said they were preparing a counteroffensive to capture areas of the southern territory that had spiraled out of control.
On the diplomatic front, after Russia invaded Ukraine on his February 24th, Mr Zelensky made the first high-level visit by a top Turkish representative to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
No immediate progress was reported in talks aimed at de-escalating tensions and bringing the two countries to the negotiating table. Turkey has offered to become a "broker and facilitator" between the two countries.
