TASS: Incident at Russian Foreign Ministry sets off fire system mid-briefing

A significant background noise that disrupted the live broadcast of Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova’s briefing on July 9 was caused by an emergency incident inside the ministry’s main building, leading to the activation of fire suppression systems.

According to a source from the Ministry’s building maintenance department cited by TASS, the noise stemmed from an accident in Building 1 of the Foreign Ministry, which resulted in flooding in the basement areas.

“An emergency occurred that led to flooding in the basement premises of the Foreign Ministry’s Building 1, after which the fire suppression systems were automatically activated,” the source explained.

The disturbance occurred during an online press briefing and lasted approximately 20 minutes. Several journalists noted the persistent and unusual noise in the background as Zakharova was responding to questions from the media.

No further details were immediately available regarding the extent of the damage or whether the incident affected the ministry’s operations.

By Khagan Isayev