A RUSSIAN factory making engines for Putin's tanks and armoured vehicles has been rocked by a massive explosion.
A fireball shot into the sky after the blast at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant in the Ural mountains near the border with Kazakhstan.
A powerful "explosion" was reported by locals – with footage showing the moment the factory goes up in flames in a huge inferno.
The plant is under US and Ukrainian sanctions as "an enterprise specialising in the production of diesel engines for military equipment for the needs of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation".
It's the latest blow to Vladimir Putin's war efforts as Russian bases and factories have been repeatedly hit by sabotage or kamikaze drone attacks.
Chelyabinsk would appear out of range for drones from Ukraine – but a criminal probe has been launched into the cause of the explosion.
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The factory is a key supplier for a range of key military firepower such as the T-72, T-90 Proryv tanks, the BMPT Terminator, Akatsiya self-propelled artillery units, and the Msta-S and Koalitsiya-SV complexes.
And the plant is currently used to repair military equipment for use in Putin’s war against Ukraine, it is understood.
Russia claimed the explosion was caused by a “short circuit” – but it routinely plays down fires at key facilities during the war.
Local sources said later the fire was under control but it was unclear to what extent the blaze had impacted on the plant's work.
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Russia has been blighted with a string of mysterious fires and explosions since Putin invaded Ukraine.
And in the border regions, Ukraine has occasionally launched strikes or daring raids to hit back at the Putin.
Earlier this month, a huge explosion rocked a military unit storing Putin's prized missiles in Russia.
It is believed the missile depot near the city of Volgograd was blasted by kamikaze drones – triggering a massive blaze.
Footage showed a giant inferno raging following the explosion.
More than 600 people including at least three children were evacuated from military housing at the unit after the blast.
Days before, another Russian military base exploded into flames.
Dramatic footage showed a roaring fire at an army engineering barracks at Kurganinsk in Krasnodar region near Crimea.
Meanwhile, Russia also reported a drone attack on a gunpowder plant in Kotovsk, Tambov region, which supplies Putin’s forces in Ukraine.
A drone exploded on the roof of a workshop, causing damage and sparking a fire.
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