A series of unusual fires and

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...

s have occurred in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which have not been formally explained. There have been many notable arson attacks on military recruitment offices in Russia since the beginning of the war, and there has been speculation that some of the fires or explosions have been the result of sabotage efforts by Russian partisans (such as Svoboda Rossii or Atesh partisan legion) or Ukrainian saboteurs.

Overview

A "yellow" (medium) terrorist threat level was introduced in

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

, and

Belgorod Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...

oblasts, as well as some districts of

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the Russian Census (2021), 20 ...

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

, and northern

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. Starting from the end of March, a series of incidents and explosions were reported in border regions of Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, and Voronezh Oblasts. Russian officials reported mortar shelling, drone attacks, and helicopter gunship attacks allegedly coming "from the Ukrainian side". The Ukrainian side refused to confirm or deny involvement in incidents at strategic locations. There were allegations that some of the fires or explosions were the result of Ukrainian

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

. In May, a series of incidents on railway lines in Russia impeded the deployment of troops and military equipment to Ukraine; responsibility for these incidents was claimed by the Internet movement " Stop the Wagons" (a reference to the Russian anti-war slogan "Stop the War").

List of reported fires

2022

2023

2024

Notes

Original Russian terms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russian mystery fires (2022-present) 2022 fires in Asia 2022 fires in Europe 2022 in Russia Building and structure fires in Russia Explosions in Russia 2022 disasters in Russia 2023 disasters in Russia Belarusian and Russian partisan movement (2022–present) 2023 fires in Asia 2024 fires in Asia 2023 fires in Europe 2024 fires in Europe 2024 disasters in Russia Warehouse fires