‘There Were Two Bangs’: New Details Of Explosions Near Russia’s Northern Fleet HQ
- 20.12.2024, 14:24
A large-scale detonation of ammunition was captured on video.
A video of an explosion near the base of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy in Severomorsk, Murmansk Region, has appeared online. Military analysts have not ruled out that the footage was captured on a large-scale detonation of ammunition.
Local residents reported the incident on the evening of December 18. In public groups in Severomorsk, Murmansk and the city of Safonovo located between them, people wrote about two explosions and the subsequent blast waves. “There were two bangs. I live on Starostin on the 8th floor. The house shook. Scary!” a subscriber of a local public wrote in the comments. Residents also reported “house shaking” on Bauman, Sedov and other streets, in the Drovyanoye area. However, only one flash was captured on video. The Norwegian publication Barents Observer identified the location of the shooting as house No. 9 on Skalnaya Street in Murmansk, which is located on top of a hill in the Oktyabrsky District. This location is 11-13 km away from the supposed epicenter of the explosion in Severomorsk. A large column of fire is visible in the footage.
Local residents also suggested that the cause of the explosions was the disposal of ammunition at one of the quarries, which was scheduled for December 18. However, the administration of the closed administrative-territorial entity of Aleksandrovsk announced the cancellation of the work that morning.
In the area where the explosion occurred, there are a number of Russian military facilities, including the Severomorsk-1 naval air base, warehouses and bunkers with weapons. Severomorsk-1 is located 13 kilometers from the shooting location. This airfield is the second largest on the Kola Peninsula, it houses fighters, bombers, as well as maritime surveillance aircraft and a squadron of Ka-27 helicopters, the publication notes. In addition, 11 km from the recording site there is an open weapons depot, and to the northwest of Severomorsk-1 there are anti-aircraft missile systems and antennas for electronic warfare.
The Agency adds that between Severomorsk and Murmansk there is a closed military airfield “Severomorsk-2”, which was closed 26 years ago. Work on its restoration began in early 2024. Military analyst Yan Matveyeu told the publication that the explosion resembles the detonation of a large amount of ammunition. He noted that this could have happened both due to the disposal of shells and as a result of sabotage. “Too powerful and uneven explosion,” Matveyeu added, ruling out the scenario of an accidental descent of ammunition from a Russian plane. The analyst also allowed for the possibility of a strike or crash of a drone.
“Usually they do it like this: a drone arrives, a fire starts, then the ammunition explodes, but here there is no fire. But if the ammunition was lying on the street, it could explode immediately,” he explained.
Severomorsk is almost 1,900 km from the border with Ukraine. Ukrainian UAVs have not yet penetrated such a depth of Russian territory. However, in August of this year, drones were able to strike the Olenya military airfield in the Murmansk region, where Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 strategic missile carriers were stationed. This was a record for range since the beginning of the war — about 1,850 km.
Russian authorities have not yet commented on the information about the explosions.