A powerful explosion is seen in the ammunition depot at a military base in Kalynivka, west of Kiev, Ukraine. Photo / AP
Massive explosions and a blaze at a military ammunition depot in central Ukraine have forced authorities to evacuate 24,000 people and close airspace over the region.
The blasts occurred at a military base near Kalynivka in the Vynnytsya region, 270km west of Kiev, Ukrainian emergencies service said in a statement.
One person was injured, it said.
The area was also closed to rail and road traffic.
The national railway company Ukrzaliaznytsya diverted 14 passenger trains.
Arriving in the region hours later, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said "external factors" were behind the incident.
The depot houses some 188,000 tonnes of munitions, including projectiles for various rocket-launch systems.
- AP
The system is expected to intensify into a category 2 overnight.