A series of unusual fires and explosions have occurred in Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, [1] [2] which have not been formally explained. [3] There have been many notable arson attacks on military recruitment offices in Russia since the beginning of the war, [4] and there has been speculation that some of the fires or explosions have been the result of sabotage efforts by Russian partisans [5] (such as Svoboda Rossii or Atesh partisan legion [6] ) or Ukrainian saboteurs. [7]
A "yellow" (medium) terrorist threat level was introduced [8] in Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts, as well as some districts of Voronezh Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, and northern Crimea. Starting from the end of March, a series of incidents and explosions were reported in border regions of Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, and Voronezh Oblasts. Russian officials reported mortar shelling, drone attacks, and helicopter gunship attacks allegedly coming "from the Ukrainian side". [ru 1] [9] [10]
The Ukrainian side refused to confirm or deny involvement in incidents at strategic locations. [11] There were allegations that some of the fires or explosions were the result of Ukrainian sabotage. [12] [13]
In May, a series of incidents on railway lines in Russia impeded the deployment of troops and military equipment to Ukraine; responsibility for these incidents was claimed by the Internet movement "Stop the Wagons" [ru 2] (a reference to the Russian anti-war slogan "Stop the War"). [ru 3] [14]
Location | Date | Facility | Deaths | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kstovo | 22 March 2022 | Oil depot [15] | ||
Belgorod | 1 April 2022 | Oil depot [11] | 1 | 50°35′29.8″N36°40′13.1″E / 50.591611°N 36.670306°E |
Belgorod region | 12 April 2022 | Railway bridge [16] | ||
Tver | 21 April 2022 | Central Research Institute of the Aerospace Defense Forces [17] | 7 | |
Kineshma | 21 April 2022 | Chemical plant [18] | ||
Korolyov, Moscow Oblast | 22 April 2022 | Industrial zone where many enterprises of the space and rocket industry are located [19] | ||
Barvikha | 23 April 2022 | Governor's residence in Moscow Region [20] | ||
Bryansk | 25 April 2022 | Fuel depot holding 5,000 tonnes of fuel. [21] 2nd Branch of Military Unit 55443–90. [22] | ||
Ussuriysk | 25 April 2022 | Military air base [23] | ||
Belgorod | 27 April 2022 | Ammunition depot [24] | ||
Moscow | 28 April 2022 | Fires and explosions on Moscow's Kustanayskaya street [25] | ||
Ilyinskoye | 30 April 2022 | GRES-2 power plant [26] | 52°1′26.3″N75°28′34.5″E / 52.023972°N 75.476250°E | |
Perm | 1 May 2022 | FKP gunpowder plant [27] | ||
Moscow | 3 May 2022 | "Warehouse of a pro-Kremlin publishing house". [28] | ||
Nizhny Novgorod | 4 May 2022 | Industrial zone [29] | ||
Nizhnevartovsk | 4 May 2022 | Military enlistment office [30] | ||
Kursk | 5 May 2022 | Unknown [31] | ||
Perm | 8 May 2022 | Aviation college [27] | ||
Dubovoye, Belgorod Oblast | 11 May 2022 | Unknown [32] | ||
Teysin, Amursky district | 12 May 2022 | Military installation [33] | ||
Berdsk | 17 May 2022 | Chemical plant [34] | ||
Zhukovsky | 21 May 2022 | Fire at the substation in TsAGI (aviation institute) [35] | ||
Moscow | 24 May 2022 | Saint Peter and Paul Church [36] [37] | ||
Moscow | 3 June 2022 | Grand Setun Plaza Building, business center with Pension Fund of Russia offices [38] | ||
Komsomolsk-on-Amur | 4 June 2022 | Rosgvardia (National Guard of the Russian Federation) building [39] | ||
Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod | 8 June 2022 | Rosatom (Nuclear) Institute of Digital Technologies [40] | ||
Sergiyev Posad | 8 June 2022 | Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant warehouse (optical, thermal & night-vision sighting systems) [41] | ||
Vladivostok | 8 June 2022 | Military enlistment office [42] | ||
Ust-Luga | 10 June 2022 | "Factor" timber terminal [43] owned by oligarch Ramis Deberdeyev | ||
near Gulevka | 11 June 2022 | Druzhba pipeline [44] | ||
Angarsk | 23 June 2022 | LPG station (liquefied petroleum gas station) [45] | 0 | |
Moscow | 3 July 2022 | Residential skyscraper [46] | ||
near Moscow | 3 August 2022 | e-commerce warehouse [47] | 1 | |
Volokolamsk | 12 September 2022 | Plastic chip depot warehouse [48] | ||
Novokuznetsk | 26 September 2022 | Steel plant owned by Putin ally Roman Abramovich [49] | 0 | |
Moscow | 9 October 2022 | Television and radio tower [50] | ||
Belgorod | 11 October 2022 | Electricity substation [51] | ||
Ryazan | 21 October 2022 | Gunpowder factory [52] | 16 | |
Saint Petersburg | 26 October 2022 | Warehouse [53] | 0 | |
Stalnoi Kon | 16 November 2022 | Oil depot [54] | 0 | |
near Saint Petersburg | 19 November 2022 | Gas pipeline [55] | 0 | |
Moscow | 21 November 2022 | Warehouse near three railway stations [56] | 5 | |
Angarsk | 27 November 2022 | Angarsk Petrochemical Plant (largest oil refinery in Russia) [57] | 0 | |
Surazh | 29 November 2022 | Oil storage tank [58] | 0 | |
Perm | 30 November 2022 | Thermal Power Plant #9 (roof of the turbine room) [59] | 0 | |
Khimki | 9 December 2022 | MEGA Khimki Shopping Centre, explosion and fire covering 18,000 square metres (190,000 sq ft) [60] [61] | 1 [60] | 55°54′40.1″N37°23′47.1″E / 55.911139°N 37.396417°E |
Barnaul | 9 December 2022 | Tyre manufacturing plant [62] | 0 | |
Moscow | 10 December 2022 | Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts [63] | 0 | 55°44′48.4″N37°36′11.5″E / 55.746778°N 37.603194°E |
Balashikha | 12 December 2022 | Shopping center [64] | 0 | 55°43′31″N37°59′14″E / 55.72528°N 37.98722°E |
Nizhnekamsk | 12 December 2022 | Synthetic rubber factory [65] | 0 | |
Saint Petersburg | 13 December 2022 | Machine-building plant [66] | 0 | |
Angarsk | 15 December 2022 | Angarsk Petrochemical Plant [67] | 2 | |
Vladivostok | 17 December 2022 | Confectionery factory warehouse [68] | 0 | |
Snezhinsk | 18 December 2022 | Shopping center [69] | 0 | |
Verkhnemarkovo, Irkutsk Oblast | 18 December 2022 | Oil and gas condensate field [70] | 0 | 57°20′14″N107°03′09″E / 57.33722°N 107.05250°E |
Kalinino, Chuvashia | 20 December 2022 | Gas pipeline [71] | 3 | |
Kurgan | 20 December 2022 | Kamaz auto service center [72] | 0 | |
Murmansk | 22 December 2022 | Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier [73] | 0 | |
Moscow | 23 December 2022 | Military base [74] | 0 | |
Murmansk | 24 December 2022 | Supply base [75] | 0 | |
Novosibirsk | 26 December 2022 | Warehouse [76] | ||
Saint Petersburg | 29 December 2022 | Warehouse [77] [78] | 0 | |
Kronstadt | 30 December 2022 | Oil tanker [79] | 0 | |
Rostov Nuclear Power Plant | 31 December 2022 | Transformer substation[ citation needed ] | 1 | |
Location | Date | Facility | Deaths | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Novy Oskol | 3 January 2023 | Military facility [80] | ||
Saint Petersburg | 5 January 2023 | Agricultural machinery plant [81] | 2 | |
Moscow | 6 January 2023 | Foreign Ministry [82] | 0 | |
Barnaul | 8 January 2023 | Shopping center [83] | 0 | |
Bratsk | 9 January 2023 | Military enlistment office [84] [85] | 0 | |
Moscow | 10 January 2023 | Auto service [86] | 0 | |
Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk Oblast | 10 January 2023 | Sosnovaya Liniya timber mill [87] | 0 | |
Moscow | 11 January 2023 | Construction site [88] | 0 | |
Saint Petersburg | 12 January 2023 | Warehouse [89] | 0 | |
Manzherok, Altai Republic | 17 January 2023 | Hotel [90] | 0 | |
Angarsk | 21 January 2023 | Oil depot [91] | ||
Kirov | 25 January 2023 | Church [92] | 0 | |
Moscow | 28 January 2023 | Warehouse [93] | ||
Kstovo | 7 February 2023 | Oil refinery [94] | 0 | |
Novoshakhtinsk | 8 February 2023 | Oil refinery [95] | 0 | |
Yeremeytsevo, Yaroslavl Oblast | 13 February 2023 | Pipeline [96] | 0 | |
Krasnoyarsk | 13 February 2023 | Warehouse [97] | 0 | |
Yangiskain, Bashkortostan | 13 February 2023 | Livestock complex [98] | 0 | |
Moscow | 14 February 2023 | Car service station [99] | 0 | |
Kazan | 14 February 2023 | Rubber warehouse [100] | ||
Kolomna | 14 February 2023 | Warehouse [101] | ||
Magadan | 17 February 2023 | Truck warehouse [102] | ||
Ufa | 17 February 2023 | Chemical plant [103] | 0 | |
Krasnoyarsk | 22 February 2023 | Warehouse [104] | 0 | |
Moscow | 26 February 2023 | Textile plant [105] | 0 | |
Tuapse | 28 February 2023 | Oil terminal [106] | 0 | |
Saint Petersburg | 1 March 2023 | Warehouse [107] | 0 | |
Saint Petersburg | 2 March 2023 | Textile warehouse and office complex [108] | 1 | |
Vidnoye, Moscow Oblast | 5 March 2023 | Coke and gas works [109] | ||
Moscow | 7 March 2023 | Interior Ministry building [110] | ||
Kolyubakino, Moscow Oblast | 11 March 2023 | Plastic production facility [111] | 0 | |
Moscow | 11 March 2023 | Spas TV office building [112] | 0 | |
Odintsovo | 13 March 2023 | Warehouse[ citation needed ] | 0 | |
Rostov-on-Don | 16 March 2023 | FSB building [113] | 1 | |
Dolgoprudny | 18 March 2023 | Chemical plant [114] | 0 | |
Yaroslavl | 23 March 2023 | Yaroslavl Motor Plant [115] | 0 | |
Aramil, Sverdlovsk Oblast | 24 March 2023 | Research-and-production enterprise [116] | 0 | |
Aksay, Rostov Oblast | 25 March 2023 | Warehouse [117] | 0 | |
Pelym, Sverdlovsk Oblast | 30 March 2023 | Gas pipeline [118] | 0 | |
Moscow | 5 April 2023 | Defense ministry [119] | 0 | |
Voronezh | 7 April 2023 | Aircraft plant [120] | 0 | |
Nakhabino, Moscow Oblast | 10 April 2023 | Auto parts warehouse [121] [122] | 0 | |
Kazan | 16 April 2023 | Tank training ground [123] | 0 | |
Stavropol | 4 May 2023 | Concrete production plant [124] | 0 | |
Moscow | 4 May 2023 | Administrative building [125] | 0 | |
Odintsovo | 30 May 2023 | Paper warehouse [126] | 3 | |
Novocherkasskaya, Rostov Oblast | 14 June 2023 | Power station [127] | 0 | |
Voronezh | 24 June 2023 | Fuel depot [128] | 0 | |
Sergiyev Posad | 9 August 2023 | Optics plant [note 1] [129] | 2 | |
Makhachkala, Dagestan | 14 August 2023 | Fuel station [131] [132] | 35 | |
St. Petersburg | 3 September 2023 | Ruchi oil depot [133] | ||
Krasnoyarsk | 4 October | Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Smelter [134] | ||
Moscow | 26 October 2023 | Thermoelectric Power Plant [135] | ||
Chelyabinsk | 26 November 2023 | Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant [136] |
Location | Date | Facility | Deaths | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
near St Petersburg | 21 January 2024 | Gas terminal [137] | ||
Belgorod | 15 February 2024 | Shopping center [138] | 4-6 | |
Vysotsk | 18 May 2024 | LNG terminal [139] | 60°37′N28°34′E / 60.61°N 28.56°E | |
Vyborg | 19 May 2024 | Oil depot [140] | 60°43′N28°44′E / 60.71°N 28.74°E | |
Moscow [141] | 14 June 2024 | Sukhoi Design Bureau | ||
Moscow | 24 June 2024 | Platan Research Institute [142] | 8 |
Original Russian terms
The Beriev A-50 is a Soviet-origin airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft that is based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane. Developed to replace the Tupolev Tu-126 "Moss", the A-50 first flew in 1978. Its existence was revealed to the Western Bloc in 1978 by Adolf Tolkachev. It entered service in 1985, with about 40 produced by 1992.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), commonly referred to by the exonym Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), is an Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine.
Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk, also known as Viktor Vladimirovich Medvedchuk, is a former Ukrainian lawyer, business oligarch, and politician who has lived in exile in Russia since September 2022 after being handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange. Medvedchuk is a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician and a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Avdiivka is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is located in the centre of the oblast, just north of the regional centre, Donetsk. The large Avdiivka Coke Plant is located in Avdiivka. The city had a population of 31,392 before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it was reported as 1,600 in October 2023, and then "just over 1,000", mostly living below ground level.
Sergey Vladimirovich Surovikin is a Russian army general who serves as head of the Coordinating Committee for Air Defence under the Council of Defence Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) since September 2023.
Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 March 2019. As none of the 39 candidates on the ballot received an absolute majority of the initial vote, a runoff was held on 21 April between the top two vote-getters, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a television personality, and Petro Poroshenko, the incumbent president. The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that Zelenskyy won the second round with 73.22% of the total vote. The elections were recognized as free and fair by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Vasily Ivanovich Ignatenko was a Soviet firefighter who was among the first responders to the Chernobyl disaster. He worked as an electrician before being conscripted into the Soviet Armed Forces in 1980, where he completed his two years of service as a military firefighter. Afterwards, he took up employment as a paramilitary firefighter with Fire Brigade No. 6, which was based out of Pripyat. On 26 April 1986, Ignatenko's fire brigade was involved in mitigating the immediate aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster; fighting the fires that broke out following the initial explosion of Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. While on site, Ignatenko received a high dose of radiation, leading to his death at a radiological hospital in Moscow eighteen days later.
Casualties in the Russo-Ukrainian War include six deaths during the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, 14,200–14,400 military and civilian deaths during the War in Donbas, and up to 1,000,000 estimated casualties during the Russian invasion of Ukraine till mid-September 2024.
The ongoing military occupation of Ukraine's Kherson Oblast by Russian forces began on 2 March 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine as part of the southern Ukraine campaign. It was administrated under a Russian-controlled military-civilian administration until 30 September 2022, when it was illegally annexed to become an unrecognized federal subject of Russia.
During the southern Ukraine offensive of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city of Odesa and the surrounding region have been the target of shelling and air strikes by Russian forces on multiple occasions since the conflict began, fired in part by Russian warships situated offshore in the Black Sea. The city has also been targeted by Russian cruise missiles.
There have been attacks in mainland Russia as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. The main targets have been the military, the arms industry and the oil industry. Many of the attacks have been drone strikes, firebombing, and rail sabotage. The Ukrainian intelligence services have acknowledged carrying out some of these attacks. Others have been carried out by anti-war activists in Russia. There have also been cross-border shelling, missile strikes, and covert raids from Ukraine, mainly in Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk oblasts. Several times, Ukrainian-based paramilitaries launched incursions into Russia, captured border villages and battled the Russian military. These were carried out by units made up mainly of Russian emigrants. While Ukraine supported these ground incursions, it denied direct involvement.
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia occupied vast portions of the territory of Ukraine, having already occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as well as all of Crimea since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2014. Partisan groups began to be organized in mid-2022. These groups have been involved in intelligence-gathering, sabotage, and assassinations. Much of their activity has taken place in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The battle of Huliaipole is an ongoing military conflict between the Armed Forces of Russia and the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the city of Huliaipole, in central Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces have launched several missile attacks over the city of Dnipro in Ukraine. These have led to dozens of fatalities and over a hundred injuries among the civilian population.
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2022 Crimean Bridge explosion was an event during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on 8 October 2022, at 6:07 a.m., when a fire broke out on the Crimean Bridge as a result of an explosion of a bomb loaded onto a truck, which occurred on the road bridge, on the westbound vehicle lanes running from Russia to Kerch in Russian-occupied Crimea. Two two-lane vehicular spans of the bridge collapsed into the water. Two adjacent eastbound lanes on a separate structure survived. The railway bridge was also damaged by a railway tanker car that caught fire. Five people were killed. Following the incident, the Investigative Committee of Russia launched an investigation.
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On 14 January 2023 at about 3:30 p.m., a Russian Kh-22 missile struck a nine-story residential building in Dnipro, Ukraine, on Naberezhna Peremohy St, 118, Sobornyi District in the right-bank part of the city, destroying one entrance and 236 apartments. On 19 January the official casualty rate was stated as 46 people killed and 80 injured and 11 people reported missing. 14 children were reported injured, and 39 inhabitants were rescued. The destruction left about 400 people homeless. The strike was part of months-long campaign of Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure that also had hit Dnipro.
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