Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Zatynaiko apologized to the civilian population on behalf of the Minister of Defense and on his own behalf.

According to the "INFA" agency, citing the "1+1" TV channel, in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, 9 people in serious condition with burns of varying degrees were taken to the district hospital in Novokostiantynivka. According to doctors' estimates, 3-4 thousand people need medical assistance. Currently, rescuers are unable to localize the fire. At the ammunition storage base in Melitopol district of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where the fire occurred, the entire nomenclature of artillery ammunition of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was located. This was reported on Thursday evening on the "Visti" program on UT-1 by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Zatynaiko. He confirmed the information that there are no military personnel among the dead. "As for the civilian population - the Ministry of Defense does not have such information," said the Chief of the General Staff. He reported that explosions are still ringing out. Operational groups are working at the site, engineering groups are being created for demining, heavy equipment is being loaded for eliminating the consequences of the event. O. Zatynaiko stated that the cause of the fire and explosions will be known after the investigation by the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office. Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Zatynaiko asked for forgiveness from the civilian population on behalf of the Minister of Defense and on his own behalf. And Vice Prime Minister Andrii Kliuiev, who is at the scene, reported that more than 6.5 thousand residents of surrounding villages are subject to evacuation. Practically all residents have been evacuated from Spaske, from Novobohdanivka - about 70%. Many residents of this settlement do not want to leave their homes. According to Kliuiev, explanatory work is being conducted among the population. But people refuse - they fear looting, despite numerous police cordons. By the end of the day, it is planned to evacuate all people from the disaster zone. Evacuated people are being placed in sanatoriums, boarding houses, and care homes. According to eyewitnesses, the evacuation took place rather spontaneously, distraught parents are searching for their children, fire victims lack blankets and warm clothing. It is also known that children from the explosion zone are being taken to neighboring recreation bases. Currently, local residents who have somewhat recovered, together with medics, are searching the territory to find victims of the tragedy. Press secretary of the Vice Prime Minister Hanna Tymchenko reported that at a press conference for local journalists, A. Kliuiev reported that the area of the event is surrounded by Ministry of Internal Affairs officers to prevent robberies and looting. According to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as of 21:00, information was received about two injured persons. A 74-year-old resident of the village of Novobohdanivka with a concussion, neck contusion, and a 48-year-old warehouse guard with a concussion and a lacerated head wound were hospitalized at the Melitopol district hospital. All fire centers in the evacuation zone that arose as a result of the scattering of ammunition have been eliminated by Ministry of Emergency Situations units. An armored personnel carrier from the emergency rescue detachment of the Ministry of Emergency Situations from the urban-type settlement of Myrne and a barrier-removal machine are working on eliminating damage to the gas pipeline. At the oil depot in the village of Fedorivka, ammunition hit a 10,000 cubic meter tank, but no fire occurred, reports the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. According to the "Interfax" agency, the duty officer of the emergency situations department in Zaporizhzhia Oblast reported that fragments of exploding shells at the ammunition depots in Melitopol district of Zaporizhzhia Oblast are already scattering to a distance of up to 10 km. There is a threat to Melitopol, which is located 15 km from the site of the explosions.

According to the military commandant of the Zaporizhzhia military garrison Serhii Lutsenko, 7 tank tractors are currently moving from Kryvyi Rih to Melitopol district. He expressed hope that the explosions will stop by morning.

There are 15 settlements in the danger zone, where 9,700 people live. From the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the State Fire Guard, 33 units of equipment and 130 people are working at the scene. Pyrotechnic groups of emergency rescue detachments in Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Verkhivtseve of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the villages of Krasnoznamenka of Odesa Oblast, Loskutivka of Luhansk Oblast, and the reserve of fire and emergency rescue equipment have been brought to readiness. Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Andrii Kliuiev, representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Transport, and Ministry of Health are at the scene. The Minister for Emergency Situations of Ukraine Hryhorii Reva has set off for the site. Hanna Tymchenko, press secretary of Vice Prime Minister Andrii Kliuiev, reported to ICTV from the scene that heavy rain is currently falling in Melitopol district, which prevents the spread of the fire.