VOLGOGRAD, Russia — A Russian official says preparations for the 2018 World Cup have hit an unusual snag — unexploded munitions from the World War II battle of Stalingrad.
While demolishing an existing stadium in the southern city of Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, there were 10 instances of workers finding munitions, Arkady Grushko, head of the region’s World Cup preparations, told Russia’s Tass agency.
The munitions "were transported out of the city and destroyed," said Grushko, who added that the site was being checked for more explosives before construction begins of the new 45,000-seat Victory Arena for the World Cup.
The battle of Stalingrad lasted more than five months in 1942 and 1943, with Soviet troops destroying an invading German army after intense house-to-house fighting.