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Over 30,000 people in Ukraine's central Vinnytsia region have been evacuated after a huge arms depot storing missiles caught fire and exploded.

The Ukrainian government has stated that this is most likely an act of sabotage and have launched an investigation into the issue.

The arms depot is believed to have contained more than 180,000 tonnes of munitions including projectiles for various rocket-launch systems and some old weapons from the cold war.

"People suffered heavy damage," a local resident who gave just the name Antonina told AFP news agency. "Some homes had their windows and doors completely blown out," she said.

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman called for a thorough investigation into the incident, as he assured the public that the blaze had been brought under control.

"This is the arsenal of the Ukrainian army, and I think it was no accident that it was destroyed," Groysman said. 

"We need to make sure that the guilty are held responsible."

Although there have been reports of injuries and damage to properties, there has beenn no report of fatalities so far in the aftermath of the explosion.