On Wednesday evening, a fire erupted at a building that belongs to Russia’s defense ministry located in central Moscow, as reported by Russian state news agencies citing emergency services.

Social media footage shared by state media showed a thin dark smoke column rising from the defense ministry’s headquarters on Znamenka street, near the Kremlin.

TASS news agency reported that the small fire was extinguished shortly after it began, and there were no casualties reported, the Jerusalem Post reported.

“Around 19:30 (16:30 GMT), in one of the administrative buildings of the defense ministry in Moscow, duty workers detected smoke on the premises. The fire department and ministry of emergency situations came to the scene,” Interfax cited the defense ministry as saying in a statement.

Local emergency services reported to TASS that the fire had affected an area of 60 square meters (646 square feet). The defense ministry stated that they are currently investigating the cause of the fire.

Written by staff