A large-scale fire broke out in a large warehouse in the Pushkin district of St. Petersburg, with the flames quickly covering a huge area. As of 6:21 Bulgarian time, the situation at the scene remains critical, and rescue services are making around-the-clock efforts to localize the fire.
According to an official statement from the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation (MES RF), published by the Interfax news agency (inactive link: www.interfax.ru), the total area of the fire has already exceeded 82,000 square meters. The fire is taking place in a massive industrial building measuring approximately 680 by 120 meters at 135 Kolpinskoye Shosse.
According to initial data from regional Russian media, cited by News.ru (inactive link: www.news.ru), there is currently no confirmed information about dead or seriously injured citizens. Hundreds of firefighters, dozens of specialized fire trucks and heavy equipment have been dispatched to the scene. The area is under constant monitoring of the levels of harmful emissions in the air due to the thick black smoke rising above the industrial zone.
As of this time, there have been no official statements from the Russian authorities linking the incident to a military strike or attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The investigating authorities are considering versions of a technical malfunction in the power grid or a violation of fire safety rules. Local residents report that before the fire, the characteristic sounds of air defense (AVO) or flying drones were not heard.
Nevertheless, the incident has sparked serious discussions in the media. The reason is the frequent successful attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces with drones against large logistics centers of the company Wildberries in the Leningrad and Moscow regions, for which Kiev claimed responsibility on the grounds that the bases were used for military logistics.