On the evening of April 7, residents of Moscow Oblast, Vladimir Oblast, and Yaroslavl Oblast reported at least three strong explosions occurring almost simultaneously. The possible target was believed to be engineering munitions in the Alexandrovsky District of Vladimir Oblast, according to ASTRA.
Initial reports of the blasts came around 20:00 Moscow time. Video footage captured explosions in Sergiyev Posad and Pereslavl-Zalessky, as well as images of smoke and flames in several localities of Vladimir Oblast. One user noted that the glow was visible “between Grigorovo and Shablykino.”
Ukrainian channel Supernova+ suggested a potential fire at military unit 42754, the 1263rd engineering munitions depot. However, the local administration of Pereslavl-Zalessky, cited by Telegram Channel “Pro Gorod Kirzhach,” stated that “these are not explosions but sounds related to aircraft breaking the sound barrier.”
ASTRA’s analysis of smoke over Strunino indicated that the filming location was about 7.5 km from the 1263rd depot. According to NASA FIRMS satellite data, no fire was detected at the depot itself.
The 1263rd Central Engineering Munitions Depot (military unit 42754) is located near the settlement of Arsaki in the Alexandrovsky District, approximately 22 km west of the town of Alexandrov. The depot is a military compound and storage facility for engineering munitions, officially registered as military unit 42754 in the Ministry of Defence system.
