Residents of St. Petersburg and the region on the night of April 26-27 heard explosions, in particular, loud sounds were in Pavlovsk, Pushkin, Kolpino and also in Gatchina. It is reported by "Fontanka". Telegram channels have posted videos showing the sounds of explosions. There was no official information about the explosions from the services and authorities.
The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel claims, citing a source, that the Pushkin military airfield, located next to the 20th aircraft repair plant, could be the target. Military aircraft are being repaired there, including those taking part in the war with Ukraine. However, according to Fontanka, the epicenter of the explosion was 300 meters from the equestrian club "Cowboy" in Pavlovsk. There was an abandoned thermal power plant building, now in its place is a funnel with a diameter of 6 meters and 1.5 meters deep, the newspaper claims. RIA Novosti on the morning of April 27 reported that in Pavlovsk the roofs of the stables and the arena were damaged by "fragments of unknown origin." This was told to the agency in the equestrian club. What was the source of the explosion is not yet clear, the agency says.
Local residents report that they felt shaking and "explosive wave". Now the National Guard and emergency services are working on the spot, but details of what happened were not given.
Portal 78.ru gives the story of a worker from Pavlovsk. According to him, he heard an explosion and felt a shock wave, then stones flew near him. “Let’s just say that if it happened very close, I wouldn’t talk next to you,” he said.
On February 28, 200 square kilometers of airspace were closed over St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, and civil aircraft did not fly over the city for some time. Baza claimed that the authorities introduced Plan Carpet because of an unidentified aircraft in the air. Pulkovo Airport did not receive aircraft, the airspace was closed until 13:00. The Russian Defense Ministry later clarified that the closure of Pulkovo was due to the training of duty forces in the Western zone of responsibility for air defense. In mid-February, the Carpet signal was introduced in the Leningrad Region – then the airspace over the city of Lodeynoye Pole was closed.