An explosion has occurred at the Arsenal factory in St Petersburg
On the evening of 8 June, a major fire broke out in St Petersburg near the Arsenal factory in the area around Finland Station.
According to monitoring Telegram channels, the fire broke out in a hangar on Mineralnaya Street. The fire covered an area of around 400 square metres.
The fire may have been caused by an explosion in the hangar, where chemical reagents were stored. A thick column of black smoke rose above the city, visible from various parts of St Petersburg.
The Arsenal plant manufactures military products, including artillery ammunition. However, the company’s official link to the fire has not been confirmed.
The incident disrupted train services on the Finlandsky line. The October Railway stated that a brick fence had been destroyed and railway infrastructure damaged on the factory premises adjacent to the tracks.
On 6 June, the authorities of the Leningrad Region and St Petersburg reported a large-scale drone attack. Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed strikes on Russian territory on the night of 5–6 June, specifically on arsenals, the Russian Navy base in Kronstadt near St Petersburg, and an oil depot in the Krasnodar Krai.
Prior to this, drone attacks on St Petersburg were also recorded on 3 June, the opening day of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, which ran until 6 June.
