A fire broke out at a Russian tank training ground following reports of explosions in the city of Kazan on Saturday, according to local media reports.
The explosions were heard in the southern area of Kazan, a city of more than 1 million people located about 447 miles east of Moscow, according to The Kyiv Independent, an English-language Ukrainian news outlet. The explosions were heard near a site used for tank training amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The “special military operation” of Ukraine was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin last February. The Russian leader initially hoped for a quick victory against Ukraine, but after more than a year of fighting, Russia continues to struggle to make progress. Now, Ukraine appears to be preparing for a potential spring counteroffensive in an effort to reclaim more occupied territory.
Details about the fire in Kazan remained slim on Saturday afternoon. Russian officials have not named a likely cause of the fire, nor have they revealed if anyone was injured or killed in the blaze.
Russian officials, however, have denied that they have received reports of a fire despite media reports and video footage, according to local media InKazan.
According to the Russian news outlet, residents took to Telegram to report the explosions, which were described as a “loud bang.” One resident wrote that the alleged explosions shook their residential complex.
Video footage showing a tower of smoke in Kazan emerged on social media on Saturday morning.
“Residents of #Kazan are reporting a powerful explosion near the tank range. Local authorities deny everything as usual,” tweeted Belarusian news outlet NEXTA.
Local authorities said in October that some residents ordered to fight in Ukraine were sent to Kazan following Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilization of troops. The order was made amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive in late summer 2022, which saw it retake thousands of square miles of occupied territory.
While a cause has not been determined in the latest fire, several blazes have broken out in Russia since the start of the Ukraine war.
Last month, a fire started at a factory that manufactures equipment, including Topol-M nuclear missile launchers, for the Russian military. Local authorities said seven people were rescued from the building.
Earlier that week, an anti-Putin partisan movement called Black Bridge claimed responsibility for a fire at a building used by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukraine border. At least four people were killed and five were injured in the fire.
And last December, an army site near the Kremlin in Moscow also caught fire.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment via email.
