Thousands evacuated as Kyiv blames munitions depot fire on sabotage:
By RFE/RL
A munitions depot near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv caught fire and was rocked by a series of explosions in a huge conflagration that the authorities have blamed on "sabotage," prompting the evacuation of thousands of people living nearby.
Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman said he was on his way to the depot at an army base in Balaklia, near Kharkiv and around 100 kilometers from the front line in the conflict between government forces and Russia-backed separatists further south.
Chief military prosecutor Anatoliy Matios wrote on Facebook that investigators on the scene believe the fire and subsequent explosions were the “result of sabotage.”
Officials did not immediately say whether there were any casualties from the incident. They said some 20,000 residents in the area were being evacuated.
The depot, which stores thousands of tons of ammunition, including artillery and missiles, is used to supply Ukrainian forces. (w/RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
Some 20,000 people were evacuated after explosions and a fire overnight at a military depot at Balaklia, in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine. (Reuters)
