Three explosions were heard in Moscow’s central business district on Wednesday afternoon.
A car exploded in the underground car park of a shopping mall, causing a fire, Russian state media said, citing emergency services.
Footage showed thick black smoke billowing close to the Afimall City shopping centre on the banks of the Moskva River.
There were no official reports on casualties or the scale of damage, with authorities claiming the blaze was brought under control shortly after the explosions.
Credit: X/@Maks_NAFO_FELLA/@LXSummer1
The incident took place near where a Russian drone brigade was filmed last week piloting a strike.
Kremlin-aligned media last week posted – and then deleted – a video showing the Espanola brigade remotely piloting a drone strike from a high-rise building in Moscow.
It is not yet clear whether Wednesday’s explosions came as a result of a deliberate attack or if they were related to the war in Ukraine.
Credit: X/@UKikasi | X/@Kirilenko_a
On Tuesday a series of powerful explosions ripped through one of Russia’s largest weapons arsenals, triggering a huge blaze close to Barsovo, a town east of Moscow.
Local authorities declared a state of emergency in the Vladimir region, where footage showed a massive fireball, followed by a pall of smoke.
The initial blast triggered almost a dozen secondary explosions close to where the 51st arsenal of Russia’s Main Missile and Artillery Directorate is based.
Last month, Kyiv’s forces carried out their biggest drone attack on the Russian capital, killing three and shutting down its four airports.
Russian air defences had earlier claimed to have intercepted and destroyed 337 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 91 around the Moscow region, as well as 126 in Kursk, which remains under partial Ukrainian control.
All four of Moscow’s main airports – Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky – were affected by the drone swarm.
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