Sabotage or Short Circuit? Russian Tank Factory Goes Up in Flames Following Massive Fireball Explosion

A Russian factory that makes engines for tanks and armored vehicles belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces, erupted with a massive explosion that sent a fireball into the sky.

Knewz.com reported that the factory supplies significant tanks and artillery units to the Russian forces fighting the Ukraine war.

Dramatic footage of the incident documented the exact moment the large factory went up in flames, with locals reporting a huge explosion that rocked the city of Chelyabinsk.

Located in the Ural mountains near the Russian border with Kazakhstan, the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant is thought to be out of range for Ukrainian missile and drone attacks.

The Russian administration has stated that a short circuit was the cause of the explosion and the ensuing inferno.

An investigation is underway.

Local residents reported that the fire at the factory had been contained, although the exact extent of the damage caused by the fire is still unknown, according to The Sun UK.

The Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant is under US and Ukrainian sanctions as "an enterprise specializing in the production of diesel engines for military equipment for the needs of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation."

The Russian factory has been a significant supplier of the T-72, T-90 Proryv tanks, the BMPT Terminator, Akatsiya self-propelled artillery units, and the Msta-S and Koalitsiya-SV complexes, according to the outlet.

The factory also is a repair house for military equipment being used in the war with Ukraine.

The Chelyabinsk incident is the latest in a long line of abrupt explosions at factories and military units, thus delivering a significant blow to Putin's forces.

Knewz wrote on Nov. 16 that the city of Volgograd in Russia was jolted awake as a nearby Russian military base and missile depot went up in flames following a huge explosion at around 1 a.m. local time.

The explosion and the raging fire led many residents of the Kotluban village, where the military base and missile depot are located, to evacuate their homes Newsweek reported.

The cause of the explosion is unknown, but many point toward Ukraine as the culprit.

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The Sun has reported that residents of the Kotluban village said they heard a Ukrainian kamikaze drone flying overhead before the explosion occurred.

But one witness claimed, "Warehouses or a train loaded with shells exploded in a military unit."

According to the outlet, the military site in Kotluban village also was under attack by Ukraine in September.