In Photos: Russia On Fire With Mystery Blazes
- By RFE/RL
A spate of recent fires in Russian cities has led some to speculate that the blazes may be linked to the war in Ukraine. Some of the fires have damaged military objectives while others have hit buildings unrelated to Russia's war infrastructure.
1
A fire at an oil depot in Kstovo, in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region, on March 22. Seven diesel fuel storage tanks were reportedly engulfed in the blaze.
2
Fireballs rise over an oil depot in Belgorod, a Russian city located 30 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, on April 1. According to a local official, the fire was caused by an air strike from two Ukrainian helicopters. Video of the aftermath of the dawn incident shows two Hind helicopter gunships skimming the rooftops of the southwestern Russian city. Ukraine denied any involvement.
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A historic building in Ryazan, 180 kilometers southeast of Moscow, burns on April 1.
4
A blaze at a timber yard in Birobidzhan on April 4. The town is the administrative capital of Russia's Jewish Autonomous Oblast in far eastern Siberia.
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Fire engulfs a building of the Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant near Ivanovo, around 240 kilometers northeast of Moscow, on April 21.
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The Central Research Institute of Russia's Aerospace Defense Forces in Tver burns on April 21. At least 22 people died in the blaze, according to Russian news agency TASS.
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Burning oil storage depots in Bryansk on April 25. The Russian city lies 110 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
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Firefighters battle a blaze at a storage facility for unidentified solvents in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region on May 4.
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A shopping center burns in Ishim, in the southern Tyumen region of Russia, on April 28.
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Locals look on as fire engulfs a market in Vladikavkaz, a city near the border with Georgia on May 6.
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Fire crews battle a blaze at a historic building in Irkutsk, Siberia, on May 13.
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Fire consumes a storage warehouse for sunflower seeds near Penza, a city 550 kilometers southeast of Moscow, on May 21.
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Fire is seen at a corner of the Nefis Cosmetics Factory in Kazan on May 28.
14
Flames on the side of the Grand Setun Plaza in Moscow on June 3. Two people were injured in the blaze, which destroyed much of the business center.
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Firefighters face a wall of smoke at the Altyn Polimer production facility in the Tatarstan region on June 3. Rubber and plastics were reportedly stored at the factory.
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A blaze at a service station in Tymen on June 4. As well as the blazes documented in this gallery, several arson attacks on military recruitment offices have also reportedly occurred throughout Russia since the country launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
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