A warehouse explosion outside Moscow left one woman dead and more than 50 people injured, according to officials.
Andrey Vorobyov, the state governor of Moscow, announced on Telegram that six patients were receiving intensive care.
Videos posted online demonstrated a sizable smoke cloud rising from the facility in Sergiyev Posad.
The explosion took place on the property of a plant that, according to Russian media reports, produces military gear like night vision goggles.
Apartments, two schools, and a local sports facility were all harmed when nearby buildings’ windows were blown out by the shockwave.
According to Mr. Vorobyov, the explosion happened in a warehouse housing pyrotechnics on the property of the Zagorsk optical manufacturing facility.
Despite pro-Kremlin commenters speculating that a drone attack was to blame for the explosion, investigators rejected that theory.
The explosion happened not long after the Russian military ministry said that two drones had been shot down overnight near Moscow, one of them close to the airport.
Russia attributed the drone attacks to Ukraine. Neither the drone assaults nor the warehouse explosion have been linked to Ukraine.
Russian authorities have reported that an explosion at a warehouse close to Moscow has injured more than 50 persons.
Andrey Vorobyov, the state governor of Moscow, announced on Telegram that six patients were receiving intensive care.
Videos posted online demonstrated a sizable smoke cloud rising from the facility in Sergiyev Posad.
The explosion took place on the property of a plant that, according to Russian media reports, produces military gear like night vision goggles.
Apartments, two schools, and a local sports facility were all harmed when nearby buildings’ windows were blown out by the shockwave.
According to Mr. Vorobyov, the explosion happened in a warehouse housing pyrotechnics on the property of the Zagorsk optical manufacturing facility.
Despite pro-Kremlin commenters speculating that a drone attack was to blame for the explosion, investigators rejected that theory.
The explosion happened not long after the Russian military ministry said that two drones had been shot down overnight near Moscow, one of them close to the airport.
Russia attributed the drone attacks to Ukraine. Neither the drone assaults nor the warehouse explosion have been linked to Ukraine.
Attacks on Russian land, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, are a “inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process.”
In order to avoid any security risks before the country’s important Victory Day celebrations, Russian localities have banned devices like drones and jet skis.
The nation typically observes Tuesday as the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II, a date that is marked by numerous celebratory activities.
However, according to Russian media, military parades have been canceled for the first time in years in at least 21 locations.
Local authorities were vague in their reasons for taken such action, simply blaming ‘security concerns’ or ‘the current situation’ without being any more specific.
The banning of drones could be a response to the extraordinary alleged attack on the Kremlin earlier this month, which Russia described as an attempted assassination attempt on President Vladimir Putin.
Unverified footage circulating on social media showed two flying objects thought to be drones approaching the leader’s official residence, and one exploding with a bright flash.
After initially blaming Ukraine for the incident, on Thursday Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US was responsible – but gave no evidence to support his claim.
Parades will go ahead in Moscow and St Petersburg, though drones are banned in both.
In the capital, car-sharing services have been banned from starting or ending their journeys in the city centre as preparations for the traditional display in Red Square go ahead.
In St Petersburg, sometimes romantically described as the ‘Venice of the North’ due to its network of rivers and canals, people have been prohibited from using jet skis in certain parts of the city until May 10.
Last year, Putin was not joined by any foreign leaders for the parade amid broad diplomatic isolation for Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine the previous February.
However, the leaders of countries including Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are expected to attend tomorrow’s event.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky compared Russia’s actions in his country to those of the Nazis in a statement released through Telegram.
He said: ‘Unfortunately, evil has returned.
‘Just as evil rushed to our cities and villages then, it is doing so now. (Evil) killed our people then, so it does now.
‘Although now the aggressor is different, the goal is the same – enslavement or destruction.’
Ursula Von Der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, is expected to join him in Kyiv for Ukraine’s May 9 celebrations, which have been named Europe Day as the country distances itself further from Moscow.
Zelensky said on Monday that he had sent a draft bill to parliament proposing a Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in the Second World War held one day earlier than Russia’s, on May 8.
