• On Monday evening, an explosion at a gas station in the southern Russian region of Dagestan — caused by a fire at a nearby building — killed at least 35 and injured dozens more. New York Times (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• According to Russia's Emergency Ministry, the fire — which spanned 600 square meters on the outskirts of the regional capital Makhachkala — injured at least 105 people. FOX News (LR: 4 CP: 4)
• Though there are no indications that the explosion is connected to Russia's war with Ukraine, officials have declared a state of emergency and launched an investigation into the incident. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• A succinct message of condolence was published by the Kremlin from Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin following the incident in Dagestan, a notably poor part of Russia's majority-Muslim Northern Caucasus region which has been the site of intermittent protests, including over the invasion of Ukraine. New York Times (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• The families of the deceased will reportedly receive ₽1M each (about $10K), while each injured person will receive between ₽200K and ₽400K ($2K and $4K). Daily Caller (LR: 5 CP: 4)
• The gas station explosion occurred on the same day a separate blast killed two people and wounded five more at an oil mine in the Khanty-Mansiysk region in western Siberia. CBS (LR: 2 CP: 5)

Pro-Russia narrative:

• Russian authorities are already conducting a probe into this tragedy to determine whether safety protocols were violated or it was a result of arson. Moscow will do everything possible to save lives and bring potential wrongdoers to justice.
  RT International

Anti-Russia narrative:

• As Russian gas emits methane at rates eight times higher than the EU's domestic sources, reliance on Putin's petrol industry exacerbates security concerns and global warming. The EU, in particular, should implement measures such as accurate methane reporting, increasing renewable energy, and diversifying gas imports, to reduce Russia's geopolitical leverage and environmental impact.
  The Hill

Nerd narrative:

• There's a 50% chance that at least 24% of Russia's electricity generation will come from nuclear power in 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)