A fire has broken out at the military training grounds in the Kirovske district on the Crimean Peninsula forcing over 2000 people to evacuate and a major highway to be shut.

"It is planned to temporarily evacuate residents of four settlements - this is more than 2,000 people," Governor of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov of Crimea said on the Telegram messaging app, Reuters reported.

There was no reason given for the fire, which also forced the partial closure of the major Tavridy Highway.

Russia's Telegram channels linked to Russian security services and Ukrainian media reported that an ammunition depot was on fire at the base after a Ukrainian overnight air attack. However, Reuters said that it could not independently verify the report.