The fire was the third disaster in Russia in a month, following an explosion in Moscow's Pushkinskaya Metro Station (which killed 12 people and injured 150), and the sinking of the submarine "Kursk" in the Barents Sea, in which 118 died. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that "This latest accident shows the shape of our vital installations and the overall state of our country. We should not fail to see major problems in the country behind this accident, and we should not forget the economy. Whether or not such accidents happen again in the future will depend on how we work in this vital direction."