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About 10,000 people were evacuated after a fire and explosions hit an ammunition depot at the Ministry of Defense, 176 kilometers east of Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, officials said.
No casualties were reported and it was not immediately determined whether the explosions that occurred early this morning (local time) were an accident or sabotage.
The airspace within a radius of 20 kilometers has been closed and road and rail transport suspended.
Hundreds of people have been deployed to the site, according to a statement from the emergency services and the head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Several major fires in ammunition and weapons depots have occurred in recent years. The Ukrainian army has suffered an additional grab, fighting against Russian-backed separatists in eastern regions since 2014.
"About 10,000 people have been evacuated," the emergency services release said.
"From 04:22, the airspace within a radius of 20 kilometers was closed.
"The movement of rail and road transport is suspended."
Last year, massive explosions in a military depot in the Vynnytsya region, 270 kilometers west of Kiev, forced the authorities to evacuate 24,000 people.
Reuters
Topics:
disasters and accidents,
emergency incidents,
Ukraine
