Moscow, March 16 (AFP/APP): One person was killed and two were injured on Thursday when a fire tore through security service offices in a southern region of Russia bordering Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported.
Images circulating on social media showed a massive blaze tearing through a building in a built-up urban area with a huge plume of black smoke billowing over the fire.
Regional governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram that a “short circuit” caused the blaze.
The fire “provoked the explosion of fuel and lubricant containers” and spread over 800 square metres (8,600 square feet) Golubev said.
Although there was no immediate danger to neighbouring buildings, authorities began evacuating residents, the governor said.
There have been several incidents of reported sabotage attributed to Ukrainian partisans within Russian territory since the Kremlin deployed troops to Ukraine in February last year.
There was no immediate official comment from Kyiv on the blaze in southern Russia.
A former spokeswoman for Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky distributed images of the fire on social media but said Kyiv was not necessarily responsible.
“Don’t rush to accuse Ukraine. It might be a provocation or domestic political fight,” Yulia Mendel said on Twitter.
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