Firefighters and police have deployed to the scene in Marseille following reports of a blast

An explosion took place at the Russian consulate in the French city of Marseille on Monday after unknown attackers threw explosive devices onto the territory of the Russian mission. The full details of the incident are yet unconfirmed, but local media have reported that around 30 firefighters and police officers are working at the scene.

According to reports, the blast occurred at around 7:30 am local time on Monday. The consulate has said that the explosion did not lead to any casualties or damage the building as the devices had detonated in the garden.

In a post on X, Valeurs journalist Nicolas Boutin had cited police sources as saying that law enforcement officers were investigating a stolen vehicle found near the scene.

The Consul of the Russian Consulate General in Marseille, Anna Bulatova, has confirmed to RT that the incident involved three unidentified explosive devices, one of which had failed to detonate.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said the reported incident has all the characteristics of a terrorist attack. She added that Moscow will demand that the French authorities conduct a thorough investigation and boost security at Russian institutions in the country.

The attack comes after Russia's Foreign Intelligence Agency (SVR) warned last week that the country's diplomatic missions in Europe could become the targets of Ukrainian "terrorist attacks."

The service suggested that Kiev is "extremely reluctant" to reach any sort of settlement with Russia that would involve "excessive concessions" from Ukraine. It also warned that Ukrainian operatives could try to derail Russia-US talks by attacking Moscow's embassies in countries such as Germany, Hungary and Slovakia, as well as the Baltic states and Nordic nations.

(RT.com)