During the Ukraine war, more and more fires are reported in Russia. Military facilities are affected. What could be behind this?
Moscow – Since Ukraine war Reports of fires and explosions in various places are piling up Russia. Among other things, important armaments factories and military facilities are affected. In the night of Tuesday (May 3rd) a paper warehouse started Moscow Fire. Around 34,000 square meters were on fire, parts of the building collapsed, according to a report by the Russian news agency Tass.
A Russian ammunition factory in the city of Perm in the Ural mountains also caught fire. At least three people died in the fire, officials said. The series of fires across Russia now raises some questions: are these really a sign of sabotage against the war of aggression in Ukraine or just coincidence?
During the Ukraine war: Series of fires shakes Russia
The fires in fuel stores and ammunition depots in cities such as Belgorod, Bryansk and Voronezh seem explainable. Those are located less than 200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, which is why these fires are based on shelling Ukraine could be due. The news channel n-tv.de reports on this. According to Russian sources, a three-rocket attack caused the explosion in the ammunition depot in Belgorod at the end of March. In addition, two Ukrainian helicopters are said to have started the fire in an oil storage facility that is also located there. According to n-tv.de, Ukraine rejects allegations of this kind.
However, recently there have also been more fires in strategic locations far from the Ukrainian border: On April 21, a fire broke out in a research institute of the Russian armed forces in the Tver, northwest of Moscow. This is a central institute of the Ministry of Defense, which was involved, among other things, in the development of the so-called Iskander missiles. These are increasingly used by Russia in the Ukraine war.
One of the country’s largest chemical factories in Kineshma, north-east of Moscow, also caught fire. There, among other things, fuel for the construction of rockets in the Ukraine conflict produced. Last Tuesday (03 May), a huge warehouse in Moscow also burned down, which, according to media reports, belongs to the Russian publishing house “Prosveshcheniye” (engl.: “Enlightenment”). The special thing about it: After the Russian army invaded Ukraine, the publisher announced, according to n-tv.de, that it wanted to remove Ukraine from all school books. It is therefore extremely questionable whether these fires are actually just coincidences.
More fires in Russia since the Ukraine war – what could be behind it?
Experts also consider it likely that some fires may have been intentionally set. But who could be behind it? The strategy consultant and crisis manager Marcus Ewald names Twitter a possible resistance movement within Russia: “This suggests that all buildings are immensely important and require insider knowledge,” he wrote. However, what speaks against it is “that this would mean very complex and varied coordination and infiltration.” According to Ewald, fires intended to cover up corruption are more likely. “Perhaps public funds were diverted, now audits are being carried out and penalties are imminent,” Ewald said on Twitter.
Fire in Siberia: Russia is currently struggling with devastating forest fires.
However, wear and tear and the declining motivation of the local workers could also be responsible for the fire. The willingness to “pay attention to safety and orderly operations” may have fallen sharply since the beginning of the war. Ewald calls this “passive sabotage”. Despite the many assumptions, there will probably be no clear answer to the series of fires in Russia in the near future. A series of random fires while war rages in Ukraine seems unlikely. (as/dpa)
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