The President said the top priority is to help the injured and instructed Samara Region Governor Nikolai Merkushkin to assess the damage to homes in the surrounding area and request the necessary material assistance from the Government.
After speaking by telephone with Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Mr Merkushkin, the President decided that compensation payments to those affected by the explosions would begin starting today. Everyone who was evacuated as a result of the explosions will be entitled to compensation of 10,000 roubles each for urgent needs.
Mr Putin told the Emergency Situations, Defence, and Healthcare Ministries to monitor the situation closely in the area and be ready to report by 6pm this evening on the situation and the clean-up operations.
The explosions on the site of strategic enterprise Privolzhsky State Munitions Test Ground, 5 kilometres from the village of Nagornaya in Samara Region, began yesterday evening.