1660868093 A fire breaks out in a Russian ammunition depot near

A fire breaks out in a Russian ammunition depot near the Ukrainian border

Residents in two Russian cities were evacuated from their homes on Thursday after a fire broke out at a munitions depot near the Ukrainian border, local officials said.

The ammunition dump that caught fire is in the town of Tomonovo, about 50 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The residents of the neighboring town of Soloti were also evacuated from their homes.

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There were no injuries. The regional government has launched an investigation into the causes of the incident.

Series of explosions rocks Russian military base in Crimea

Series of explosions rocks Russian military base in Crimea

A huge fireball can be seen making dark smoke in a video posted to social media. Another video shows several consecutive explosions in the distance.

2 of 2 Plume of smoke formed after the first explosion at a Russian military base in Crimea on August 9, 2022. — Photo: via AP

A plume of smoke formed after the first explosion at a Russian military base in Crimea on August 9, 2022. — Photo: via AP

That fire came two days after explosions were reported at a military base and another Russian ammunition depot, this time in the Crimea peninsula, a region of Ukraine annexed by Russia in 2014.

In early August, near the Saki airbase in Crimea, there was an explosion of ammunition intended for the Russian Air Force (there was one dead and several wounded).

Days later, explosions were recorded at an ammunition depot in Crimea, which Russia attributed to an act of sabotage by Ukraine.

On Thursday evening, Russian forces shot down a drone near the airport in Sevastopol, the capital of Crimea and the base of Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet, local authorities said.

Shortly before that, Kremlin troops activated antiaircraft defenses near the city of Kerch, also in Crimea, where there is a bridge connecting the peninsula with Russian territory, a regional official told Russian state authorities.

Since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in late February, the Russian government has repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of conducting bombing raids on its territory, particularly in the Belgorod region.

Last month, multiple rockets hit the city of Belgorod the province’s capital killing four, according to local officials.

In early April, Ukraine’s regional governor accused two helicopters of bombing a fuel depot in Belgorod.