RTMon, 25 Apr 2022 00:22 UTC
© Social MediaFires in Bryansk, Russia
A fire broke out on Monday morning at an oil depot in Bryansk, a large Russian city around 150km from Ukraine, and 370km south-west of Moscow.
The blaze occurred at a premises operated by Transneft-Druzhba JSC and at another location, officials told RIA Novosti. No casualties have been reported and there is no threat to residential buildings, the Ministry of Emergency Situations has advised.
"The evacuation of the population is not planned. According to preliminary information, there were no victims," its press service stated, according to TASS. Local residents have reported that explosions were heard and sirens are audible in social media videos.
Another fire was recorded in the Fokinsky district of the city, the causes of which have not yet been established, Moscow daily
Kommersant has reported. Bryansk is home to over 400,000 people, and is an important regional hub.
An Interfax source revealed that a 10,000-ton tank of diesel fuel was ignited. State-owned Rossiya-24 TV has suggested that
the second object that caught fire was a diesel fuel depot in a military unit.Before Monday's incident, officials in Bryansk Region had warned of a potential terrorist threat. Similar fears were announced in parts of Voronezh Region and the entirety of the smaller Belgorod Region, where Ukraine was accused of shelling an oil depot earlier this month. The incidents come as the Russian military offensive - which began on February 24 - continues in the neighboring state.
Also overnight,
the governor of Kursk Region, Roman Starovoit, claimed that a Russian air defense system had shot down two Ukrainian drones in the sky over the village of Borovskoye.
Comment: The war is expanding via missiles and drones:
A pair of Ukrainian drones were destroyed in Russia's Kursk Region, which borders Ukraine from the northeast, the region's governor has said.
Governor Roman Starovoyt wrote on social media that "Russian air defense troops shot down two Ukrainian drones" early Monday morning in the village of Borovskoye. He said no one was hurt in the incident.
"The terrorist alert in the region will be extended," Starovoyt added later during a government meeting. The governor earlier said that mortar shells had hit a border crossing on Saturday, also with no casualties.
Targets: Ukrainian railway stations come under fire:
The head of Ukraine's railway service says five stations in the central and western parts of the country have been hit by missile strikes. Oleksandr Kamyshin, the chairman of the railway service, said on Telegram:
"Russian troops continue to systematically destroy railway infrastructure. This morning, within an hour, five railway stations in central and western Ukraine came under fire."
Kamyshin said trains are being forced to find alternate routes and schedules for security reasons. There were no reports of injuries.
Comment: The war is expanding via missiles and drones: Targets: Ukrainian railway stations come under fire: