By Russian shelling?
Nitric acid storage facility damaged in eastern Ukraine
4/9/2022 9:29 p.m
The Ukrainian authorities are warning of a major Russian attack in the east of the country. No place in Luhansk is safe. Now a warehouse with nitric acid has apparently come under fire. The governor of the area releases a video with a thick reddish cloud.
Not far from the embattled city of Rubishne in eastern Ukraine, a nitric acid storage facility has apparently been damaged by shelling. “If you are in a building, close the doors and windows!” warned the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajda. People in bomb shelters should not leave them.
At the same time, he released a video showing a thick reddish cloud said to come from nitric acid. Hajdaj spoke of Russian shelling. The pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk, on the other hand, blamed Ukrainian forces for the chemical accident. The reports were not independently verifiable.
Among other things, nitric acid can release vapors that are harmful to health. Even brief inhalation can cause acutely toxic pulmonary edema. In neighboring Lysychansk, the head of the city’s military administration called on the remaining citizens to flee. “Unfortunately, the shelling doesn’t stop,” said Olexander Sajika in a video message. It’s dangerous everywhere. However, the Luhansk region will not be abandoned.
Luhansk governor calls for evacuation
Authorities are reiterating warnings of a broader Russian attack in the region after the rocket attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine that was blamed on Russia and left dozens dead. “They are massing troops for an offensive and the shelling has increased over the past few days,” Serhiy Hajda said in a TV speech today. He also urged the civilian population to leave the region. About 30 percent of the residents in towns and villages in Luhansk are still staying, although evacuation has already been called.
Along with the south, the region has become the focus of Russian military action following the withdrawal of Russian soldiers from areas near the capital Kyiv. At least 52 people were killed in the attack on Kramatorsk train station on Friday, according to Ukrainian sources. Accordingly, it was mainly women, children and the elderly who were fleeing the expected Russian offensive in the east.
For more than six weeks, Russia has been waging a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine. One goal is to conquer the densely populated industrial region of Donbass in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. According to the UN, at least 1,700 civilians have been killed since the war began.