Special units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in cooperation with the State Service for Emergency Situations have launched a fire-fighting operation at a munitions depot near the town of Svatove in Luhansk region, Luhansk regional state administration's press service has reported.

"An operation to extinguish fires at the depot began at 08:00 local time. Three fire-fighting tanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are involved. Patrols of the State Service for Emergency Situations are filling in the tanks with water," the press service wrote on Facebook.

According to preliminary reports, blasts at the depot damaged nine five-storied, six four-storied, and 20 three-storied residential buildings.

"Explosions of shells caused multiple local fires. The emergencies service's brigades and military units have localized [the fires] and put them out," the source said.

The Defense Ministry has reported that the explosions had ceased as of 08:45 on Friday morning. Twenty teams of military engineers and emergency service personnel are working at the scene. Fire-fighting tanks and mine-clearing vehicles are engaged in the operation.