Massive & ongoing explosions at a Ukraine munitions depot in Ichnia, Chernihiv region, NW of Kyiv. Initial blast at 3:30am; 1000s of residents being evacuated; no casualty info, says military. Video shows huge fireball, munitions shooting from the depot.
This marks at least the fifth blast at a Ukrainian ammo depot in the past 3 years, raising the question: Sabotage or bad storage practices? Good background here: rferl.org/a/ukraine-expl… 
Of the past ammo depot explosions, two stand out for their size and amount of damage. There was this explosion at an ammo depot in Balakliya, near Kharkiv, in March 2017:
And then this blast at an ammo depot in the central Ukrainian town of Kalynivka in September 2017.
Ukraine has said that the explosions were caused by Russian saboteurs, and President Poroshenko vowed "to learn to defend our strategic facilities from sabotage groups," adding, "we will no longer put up with these events." Now another one has occurred. rferl.org/a/artillery-wa…
Update: Ukraine's Defense Ministry says more than 20 buses are working to evacuate more than 10,000 people from the area around Ichnia ammo depot blast; as of 7am, intensity of explosions was 2-3 per second; firefighters on site; no info on victims. mil.gov.ua/news/2018/10/0…
More: Ukraine's Military Prosecutor's Office of the Central Region says it's investigating Ichnia ammo depot blast as a case of criminal negligence, suggesting sabotage isn't the cause. facebook.com/vpcru/photos/a…
Roughly 88,000 tonnes (US 97,000 tons) of ammo had been stored at the Ichnia warehouse, which you can see on Google Maps as being an above-ground facility.
Ukraine's President Poroshenko has summoned reps of the country's security services to brief him on the Ichnia ammo depot blast, says press secretary @STsegolko. Also ordered govt "to extend all necessary assistance" to residents in the area, 1000s of whom are being evacuated.
Here's @RFERL's report with the latest: Blast At Ukrainian Munitions Depot Prompts Evacuations rferl.org/a/ukrainian-am…
At press conference, Ukraine's Defense Ministry claims Ichnia ammo depot blast caused by two simultaneous explosions in one area of depot, followed moments later by two more in another area, suggesting sabotage. Live stream:
