Fire Rages at Bureau Behind Putin's Most Advanced Combat Jets: Video

Fire engulfed a building on the grounds of a bureau in Moscow that designs and manufactures some of President Vladimir Putin's most advanced military aircraft, according to a local report.

The development was first reported by Moscow news outlet MSK1 late on Thursday, which cited one eyewitness as saying that "the fire is not stopping" at the Sukhoi Design Bureau, headquartered in the Moscow region.

"In the northwest of Moscow, the Sukhoi design bureau is on fire," MSK1 said.

The Sukhoi Design Bureau is responsible for many of Russia's military jets, including the Su-25, Su-27, Su-28, Su-30 and the more advanced Su-35 and Su-57.

Footage circulating on social media showed a large blaze and thick plumes of smoke rising into the night sky.

Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement that an unused building adjacent to the main Sukhoi Design Bureau was on fire.

"The building is not in use...there is no information about the victims," MSK1 quoted the department as saying.

Emergency services told Russian state-run news agency Tass that an unused building had caught fire while news agency Interfax reported that the building's roof had collapsed.

The blaze has been extinguished.

The cause of the fire remains unclear. Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

There have been a string of mysterious fires in Russia since Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Ukraine rarely claims responsibility for strikes on Russian soil.

Russia's Ministry of Defense said Friday that Ukrainian forces launched more than 80 drones in an attack on Russian regions overnight, largely targeted Russia's Rostov region, which borders Ukraine to the southeast.

"During the night, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to commit a terrorist attack with drones against targets on Russian territory was thwarted," the Defense Ministry said in the statement.

Russian air defense systems downed 87 Ukrainian drones, including 70 targeting the Rostov region, it said.

"The air defenses on duty intercepted and destroyed two drones over the Belgorod region [bordering Ukraine], two drones targeting the Volgograd region, six drones over the Voronezh region, six drones en route to the Kursk regions, as well as 70 drones over [Russia's southern] Rostov region," the Defense Ministry added.

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