Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting regarding dozens of destructive fires in a number of regions all across Russia on May 10, the Kremlin press service reported.
A state of emergency was introduced in 77 areas of the Russian Federation throughout the Kurgan region and in one municipality in Khakassia. A special fire emergency was declared in 49 regions of the country, according to the Kremlin press service.
Putin will receive reports from several government sources, including the acting head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Alexander Chupriyan, the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov and about a dozen governors and heads of regions.
While the Kremlin makes out the raging fires as a seasonal event, dozens of fires in key facilities have broken out across the country since the invasion of Ukraine.
On May 5, a series of large fires broke out in the city of Kursk, which borders Ukraine. The fire was confirmed by Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations and has completely burned down a gunpowder plant, killing at least two workers.
On May 4, several fires broke out in the industrial zone of Nizhny Novgorod, a city about 400 kilometers east of Moscow. At the same time, Russian police arrested suspected arsonists who attempted to set on fire a military enlistment office in the city of Nizhnevartovsk using Molotov cocktails, Interfax Russia reported.
росія знову горить У Дзержинську Нижегородської області палає цистерна з розчинником. Площа загоряння близько 2 тис. кв. м pic.twitter.com/yZ5RAkOvUp
— Ukrinform (@UKRINFORM) May 4, 2022
On May 3, "Prosveshchenie," a pro-Kremlin publishing house in Moscow that is heavily affiliated with President Vladimir Putin was burned down in a large fire, The cause of the fire wasn't identified by Russian authorities, TASS reported.
More footage from the "Prosveshchenie" publishing house near #Moscow. pic.twitter.com/Nd7Iy14s2w
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 3, 2022
On May 1, a fire broke out in the FKP Perm Powder Plant in the city of Perm in the Ural mountains, which produces gunpowder and ammunition. As a result of the fire, blasts tore through the plant, killing two and injuring at least three, according to local authorities. The Russian State Labour Inspectorate claimed that the deadly fire and explosions were caused by "a product catching fire."
On April 30, a massive fire broke out at a power plant in Sakhalin island, the cause of the fire was claimed to be "engineers' attempts to shut down a turbine generator," according to energy supplier Sakhalinenergo.
On April 28, Several explosions caused fires across Kustanayskaya street in Moscow, while Russian authorities haven't provided any explanation for the cause of the fires, nor even acknowledged them, several videos of the incident circulated online.
⚡️Today in Moscow on Kustanayskaya street, several explosions were heard due to seven burning cars. No one was hurt, the fire was extinguished, all the circumstances are being investigated now. Ax Live #Ukraine #UkraineWar #Russia pic.twitter.com/JA1eofGoNH
— Ukraine War SitRep (@UKRWarSitRep) April 28, 2022
On April 27, a fire had broken out at an ammunition depot in Belgorod, in the village of Staraya Nelidovka, some 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, according to Russian authorities. The source of the fire was not been disclosed.
Since the war with Ukraine began, 5 different enlistment offices were set on fire, even in Moscow itself, with some of the arsonists claiming they were deliberately targeting personal files of future conscripts and reservists in order to prevent mobilization.
The fires are often brushed off as accidents or not acknowledged altogether by Russian authorities, and the real cause of the blazes remains unexplained. While Ukraine hasn't taken responsibility for the fires, there have also been no official reports of local unrest.