MOSCOW: The Russian army on Tuesday reported blasts at a major military depot east of Moscow, saying it had caught fire due to “safety violations”.

“As a result of a fire on the territory of a military unit in the Vladimir region, ammunition stored in a warehouse detonated,” the defence ministry said. Four people were wounded in the explosions at the site in Barsovo, the Vladimir region governor said on Telegram.

Numerous unverified videos circulating on social media showed a massive fireball tearing through the sky with a loud, rattling blast, followed by thick plumes of smoke. The videos also showed emergency services vehicles racing through a city towards the site of the blast.

“According to preliminary information... the cause of the fire was a violation of safety standards in work with explosive materials,” the defence ministry added.

A special commission had been set up to investigate the causes of the fire, it said.

About 450 people from surrounding villages were evacuated as the rounds kept detonating, and an emergency was declared in the Kirzhach district of the Vladimir region, 130 kilometres (80 miles) northeast of the Russian capital.

In the summer of 2022, five people were killed in a similar accident at the depot, according to the local authorities, and in March 2025, people from the village of Barsovo were evacuated due to a drone attack.

According to a 2009 article in Krasnaya Zvezda, the official newspaper of the Russian army, the Barsovo depot was able to contain more than 250,000 tonnes of ammunition.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2025