MOSCOW: A fire has broken out at a military plant in the US city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, that has been producing munitions, including artillery and mortar shells for supply to Ukraine, Sputnik quoted US media reports on Tuesday.
The major fire broke out at the ammunition plant at around GMT1900 on Monday, the Atlas News reported, citing spokesperson for US defence corporation General Dynamics and eyewitnesses. The eyewitnesses also shared videos and photos showing dark smoke coming from the plant’s pipes.
General Dynamics, which owns the facility, told Atlas News that the fire was soon extinguished without any casualties.
The plant is one of seven production arsenals manufacturing military munitions for the US army, including large-calibre metal projectiles and mortar shells, such as the 155 mm calibre projectiles, the report said.
The Scranton plant has been specially modernised to produce shells for Ukraine, US magazine National Defense reported. Before the Ukraine conflict, the factory produced an average of 7,000 artillery shells per month, while now it is expected to manufacture as many as 35,000 artillery shells per month by 2027, the report said.
Western countries have been providing military and financial aid to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kyiv, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict. In April 2022, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all NATO countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia.
