Three explosions rock central Moscow near shopping centre

Three explosions rocked a busy shopping centre in central Moscow today after a car ‘exploded’ in the underground parking garage.

The car’s explosion sparked a fire, with billowing black smoke seen across the Russian capital’s skyline, just 15 minutes away from the Kremlin.

Authorities are investigating the explosions, but initial reports say they aren’t ruling out sabotage or terrorism.

Emergency services told local Russian media SHOT that an explosion occurred shortly before the fire broke out, and the flames quickly spread to nearby construction materials.

The fire has now been extinguished, but the cause of the explosions is currently unknown. Moscow has become a target for Ukrainian attacks since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

In late 2022, a car bombing just outside of Moscow killed ultranationalist Russian Darya Dugina, the daughter of a Putin ally.

Last month, Ukraine launched its largest drone attack yet against Moscow, with exploding drones targeting high-rise residential buildings.

Russian air defences claimed to have intercepted and destroyed 337 of the Ukrainian drones over ten regions at night, including 91 around Moscow, and 126 drones over the Kursk region, which is partially under Ukrainian control.

All four main Moscow airports – Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukova and Zhukovsky – were disrupted by the drone onslaught, delaying flights and cancelling others.

Just yesterday, one of the largest ammunition depots belonging to Russia’s Ministry of Defence was engulfed in flames after an apparent explosion.

Footage shared on Telegram showed a fireball erupting into the sky about 330 miles from the Russian border with Ukraine.

The inferno is located in the Vladimir Region, in the Kirzhach District, near the village of Barsovo.

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