Mass evacuations in Moscow and St. Petersburg after phone calls about bomb threats
St. Petersburg has received no less than nine phone calls about mining, reports the news website Fontanka.
According to the publication, anonymous individuals have reported explosive devices in the following shopping centers: Galeria, Stockmann, Raduga, Miller, Atmosfera, Montpensier, June, Chkalovsky and Kosmos.
Fontanka writes that evacuations are being carried out, but does not specify exactly where.
A source in emergency services told Rossiyskaya Gazeta that visitors and staff were being taken out of five shopping centers: Miller, June, Stockmann, Raduga, and Chkalovsky.
In Moscow, Interfax reported that eight schools were evacuated due to anonymous calls, citing an informed source. In total, about 9,000 people were evacuated.
The day prior, more than 100,000 people in Moscow were evacuated due to anonymous reports of a threat of an explosion in shopping centers, train stations and universities. According to Interfax's source, emergency calls received 65 calls regarding the mining of more than 70 objects.
Mass evacuations have occurred in large Russian cities since September 11. Anonymous calls about false mining have been received by the emergency services of Perm, Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk, Bryansk, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and other cities. The FSB has started a criminal case in connection with this. The Office is considering several versions of what is happening, including that it is a planned attack by another state. According to Interfax's informed source, over 90% of calls were allegedly received via Internet channels from the territory of Ukraine.