You're reading: Defense Ministry: Intensity of explosions at Chernihiv ammunition storage depot grows

As of 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 12, blasts intensified due to a stronger wind on the territory of an arsenal in the Ichnia district of Ukraine’s Chernihiv region that caught fire in the early hours of Oct. 9 and has since seen numerous explosions of munitions stored there.

“Due to the wind getting stronger, new fire outbreaks have emerged on the technical territory where grass and trees are smoldering. This has raised the intensity of explosions of the remaining munitions strewn across the territory of the arsenal,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on its website.

Fire tanks, engineering vehicles and firefighting equipment continue working in the premises of the arms depot, it said.

At 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 9, it was first reported about the fire and explosions across the arms depots of the 6th Arsenal of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. No casualties were reported. A total of 12,500 people were evacuated from 38 populated localities after the incident, the ministry said.

The military prosecutor’s office launched a criminal probe to investigate the emergency situation, suspecting that it may have been caused by negligence. The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) reported that it is considering several possible causes of the fire, including act of sabotage.