Europe

Fire engulfs Russian defense ministry's building in Moscow

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Firefighters work to put out a blaze at a building of Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, April 3, 2016. A building of the Russian Defense ministry is on fire in central Moscow with the fire brigade is on its way, the city’s law enforcement bodies told Russian news agency TASS on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) (The Associated Press)

Firefighters work to put out a blaze at a building of Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, April 3, 2016. A building of the Russian Defense ministry is on fire in central Moscow with the fire brigade is on its way, the city’s law enforcement bodies told Russian news agency TASS on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) (The Associated Press)

Firefighters work to put out a blaze at a building of Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, April 3, 2016. A building of the Russian Defense ministry is on fire in central Moscow, the city’s law enforcement bodies told Russian news agency TASS on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) (The Associated Press)

A fire is raging at a former headquarters of the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow.

The ministry moved to a new headquarters on the Moskva River in 2014 but still kept the old building near the Kremlin.

Several hundred firefighters and several cranes were seen battling the blaze Sunday afternoon after a fire broke out several hours earlier.

The ministry said the fire will not affect its core operations since the military departments have long moved to the new headquarters. It said the old building on Znamenka Street houses the departments in charge of procurement and services.

There were no immediate reports about the cause of the fire.