More than 2,000 people from the area near the Kirovske military base in Crimea are to be evacuated from their homes on Wednesday due to a fire that broke out at the base, said Sergei Aksyonov, the Russia-backed governor of the region.

"It is planned to temporarily evacuate residents of four settlements," he said on the Telegram messaging group.

The fire forced the closure of the nearby Tavrida Highway.