Multiple videos circulated online on Sunday showing massive black smoke over Russia, reportedly caused by a fire at a construction site in Moscow on the same day that wildfires ravaged other areas of the country.
A fire broke out at a construction site owned by PIK Group, a Russian real estate developer headquartered in Moscow, on Sunday, Euromaiden Press reported, citing reports from city residents. The alleged burning site is about 5 miles from the FSB Academy.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but media reported that the flames erupted after garbage and building materials caught fire. Euromaiden Press posted a short clip of black smoke billowing over buildings in Moscow.
Video of the fire was shared on Twitter by analyst Feher Junior, Irish journalist Jason Corcoran and former MP Adam Kinzinger wrote, “The dreams of Russian expansion?” The clip was also shared on a Telegram channel called Operational Armed Forces, which, according to his bio on the social media platform, reports on operational news from the Ukrainian army.
Meanwhile, a small village in the country’s Sverdlovsk region had to be evacuated after wildfire spread to a gunpowder depot, local officials said Saturday night, Portal reported. According to preliminary information, no casualties were reported, but the fire spread over 960 square meters, the region’s Emergencies Ministry announced on its Telegram channel.
Yevgeny Kuvashev, the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, described the situation of the forest fires as “critical”, according to Portal. The wildfire spread across the area as it was made worse by dry and strong winds.
A state of emergency was declared in a number of areas in Sverdlovsk, where 55 fires broke out as of Sunday, Meduza reported, citing Ekaterinburg Online. The media company reported that two gunpowder warehouses burned down and 18 buildings storing explosives were endangered due to the wildfire that spread through the village of Pervomaysky, which was evacuated along with the village of Krasnoarmeysky.
Residents of the town of Asbest in the Sverdlovsk region, where four major fires were reportedly spreading, were left without water and electricity after water and electricity facilities were affected.
An aerial photo taken on February 28 from a skyscraper in Moscow’s International Business Center (Moskva City) shows western Moscow. Multiple videos circulated online on Sunday showing massive black smoke in the Russian sky, reportedly caused by a fire at a construction site in Moscow on the same day that wildfires ravaged other areas of the country. Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images
The region also saw a fire last week – the origin of which is still unknown – that swept through a village, killing one person and leaving hundreds homeless, according to Portal.
Reports of the fires in Russia come days after two drones hit the Kremlin in Moscow last week. A small drone explosion over the building’s domed roof was captured on video circulating online, but it remains unclear who is responsible for the attempted attack. Russia has accused Ukraine of a “terrorist attack” and an attempt to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Kiev denied.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country would not attack either Putin or Moscow, adding that his country did not have “enough weapons”.[s] for this.”
Newsweek has emailed the Russian Foreign Ministry and PIK Group for comment.