At least eight people were killed on Monday by a blast at a Navy arms depot, just 10 days after a series of explosions ripped apart the same arsenal, RIA-Novosti reported, citing the Defense Ministry.

The explosions took place at Arsenal Number 31 in Ulyanovsk, a city of 635,000 people about 800 kilometers southeast of Moscow.

"Eight people were killed and two injured while loading munitions for decommissioning," said a Defense Ministry spokesperson.

The spokesperson said the blast took place at 2:30p.m. local time.

The country's poorly trained and badly paid military has suffered frequent accidents with their aging equipment in recent years. Western military attaches say safety standards are low.

Previous mishaps in the armed forces have sometimes led to sackings of senior generals and military officials.