Videos Show Large Fire at Russian Gunpowder Plant After Explosion: Reports

A large fire erupted at a Russian gunpowder plant after an explosion Friday night, leading to concerns about a potential attack.

The massive fire took place in the town of Kotovsk, where residents say they heard an explosion before seeing the blaze soar across the factory. No deaths were reported.

The fire burned more than 300 meters during the hour and a half it ravaged the area, according to The Kyiv Independent, a Ukrainian online newspaper. The Kyiv Post reported that the gunpowder factory was struck by a Ukrainian drone. However, the official cause of the fire is not yet known.

The fire took place just four months after another fire at the Kotovsk plant killed four people and injured 12. In the June fire, government officials said, the fire was the result of human error, not an attack. The Kotovsk plant produces ammunition for the Russian army and is one of the country’s largest industrial facilities.

While it is not known if the fire resulted from a Ukrainian attack, on Thursday night two Russian landing ships were struck by Ukrainian sea drones in Crimea. Kyiv’s military intelligence agency released a video of the stealth attack.

“As a result of a night operation on the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea, [Ukrainian] soldiers struck small amphibious ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” the agency said on its Telegram channel.

“Occupiers used these ships for air defense purposes in the Black Sea utilizing Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile systems,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on social media.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country is committed to reversing Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.

While the U.S. and the EU are holding private talks with Kyiv on the possibility of peace negotiations with Russia, Zelensky has denied reports that Ukraine is under pressure to negotiate.

He recently said that for the war to end Kyiv would require “the restoration of territorial integrity, rights and the freedom of citizens. Another stage of the war is the restoration of justice.”

“The restoration of sovereignty is the main principle for ending the hot stage of the war,” he said. “Everything will end in peace.”

But, he added, Russia “simply doesn’t want it and imagines the world in its own way.” He was speaking by video to students at Mexico’s Anáhuac Querétaro University, according to news outlet RBK Ukraina.

Previously, he has said: “People in the world must realize if we are victims we will not be the last ones.”

The United States and other Western allies continue to support Ukraine with aid, but there’s been increasing scrutiny in the U.S. over the cost, especially as the conflict in the Middle East escalates.

Chief on the list of demands Russia has for peace is not allowing Ukraine to join NATO. Among Eastern European countries, Ukraine is one of a few that have not joined the alliance.

As part of its war effort, Russian officials have reportedly asked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to return more than 100 engines from Russian helicopters. The Egyptian leader promised to return some of the engines, and the first delivery of roughly 150 is slated for December.

This request came after Russia previously attempted to make similar deals with Pakistan, Belarus and Brazil, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“Russia spent decades building its arms trade,” a source told the paper. “Now they’re going back in secret to their customers trying to buy back what they sold them.”