Fire kills six at Russian defence facility

A fire broke out Thursday at a top-secret Russian military research institute that worked to develop the country’s newest ballistic missiles, killing at least six people.

The blaze began at the Central Research Institute of the Aerospace Defence Forces in the city of Tver, between Moscow and St Petersburg, Thursday morning in its oldest wooden annex. It almost instantly engulfed the four-storey building, which is part of the Russian defence ministry.

At least six people died and 30 were injured as the blaze enveloped the city centre in black smoke and raged for hours, Russian news agencies reported.

Several people were seen jumping out of the building’s windows. As the roof collapsed and the building smouldered into the evening, firefighters dispatched a helicopter to help put it out.

Authorities did not immediately say what caused the fire but Tass, a Russian news agency, quoted an

THE ISKANDER MISSILES AND OTHERS HAVE WROUGHT DESTRUCTION IN UKRAINE.

unnamed official who suggested the source was old electric wiring in a locked, second-floor office.

It was not immediately clear what was stored at the building to have caused such a strong fire.

The institute, originally in Crimea, was founded by the Soviet Union in the 1930s to serve the Red Army and develop missile defence systems.

Scientists there have developed some of Russia’s most advanced weaponry, such as Iskander short-range ballistic missiles and Su-27 and Tu-160 stealth jets. The Iskander missiles and others have wrought destruction in Ukraine.

On Thursday, it was revealed Ukraine is working with international lawyers on a mechanism to use frozen Russian funds to compensate it for the losses it has suffered in the invasion. Officials say the war has damaged up to 30 per cent of infrastructure to varying degrees, putting the total cost so far at around US$500 billion.

The EU has sought to create an international fund for reconstruction, while some EU politicians have suggested using Russian assets frozen by the West, including US$300 billion in Russian central bank reserves.

There was no immediate reaction from Washington or London to Ukraine’s proposal. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.