By Lidia Kelly, MELBOURNE Australia
A fire that broke out at the military training grounds in the Kirovske district on the Crimean Peninsula has forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people and a closure of nearby highway, the Moscow-backed governor of Crimea said on Wednesday.
"It is planned to
temporarily evacuate residents of four settlements - this is more than 2,000
people," Russian-installed Governor Sergei Aksyonov of Crimea said on the
Telegram messaging app.
There was no reason given for
the fire, which also forced the partial closure of the major Tavridy Highway.
Russia's Telegram channels
linked to Russian security services and Ukrainian media reported that an
ammunition depot was on fire at the base after Ukrainian overnight air attack.
Reuters could not
independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson
for the Odesa military administration in Ukraine posted two videos of a fire in
an uninhabited area, saying, "Enemy ammunition depot. Staryi Krym."
Staryi Krym is a small
historical town in the Kirovske district of Crimea. Russia annexed the Crimean
Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.
Social media videos and photos
showed big flames and a smoky fire in an uninhabited area, broken by series of
detonations. Some Telegram channels said that by 0730 local time (0430 GMT),
the fire was going on for about three hours, still not being contained.
The fire comes two days after
a blast damaged a bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula on Monday that
Moscow blamed on Ukraine and for which President Vladimir Putin vowed
retaliation.
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Overnight, Russia
launched an
air attack on the Ukrainian port of Odesa for a second night in row.
Ukraine's military also said that a drone attack at Kyiv was successfully
repelled early on Wednesday.
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