Ukrainian authorities on Monday asked residents of the town of Novoselytsya, near Sumy, to take shelter after an “ammonia leak” at a nearby chemical plant.
Ukrainian authorities on Monday asked residents of the northern town of Novoselytsya to take shelter after an ammonia “leak” at a nearby chemical plant, as fighting against Russian troops rages in the region. . Sumy regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky reported an “ammonia leak” at the facilities of the Sumykhimprom company, affecting an area of 2.5 kilometers around the plant, which produces fertilizers.
The extent and cause of the incident are unclear at this stage but residents have been asked to seek refuge in basements or low-rise buildings to avoid exposure. “Ammonia is lighter than air, therefore shelters, cellars and lower floors should be used for protection,” Zhyvytsky wrote in a message posted on Telegram messaging.
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He added that emergency rescue teams were on the scene and that the nearby town of Sumy – around 250,000 inhabitants before the war – was not immediately threatened, due to the direction of the prevailing winds.
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chemical fertilizers
The Sumykhimprom plant produces several types of chemical fertilizers, according to the company’s website. Sumy, 350 kilometers east of the capital kyiv, was the scene of intense fighting for several weeks. The Russian government has recently increased its allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use chemical weapons and is developing a clandestine program.
Russia’s Defense Minister said on Sunday evening that “nationalists” had “mined” the ammonia and chlorine storage facilities in Sumykhimprom “with the aim of massively poisoning the inhabitants of the Sumy region, in the event of a ‘Entry into the city of units of the Russian armed forces’.
Russia has consistently denied helping Syria use chemical weapons in attacks on its population during that country’s war. Moscow has also denied using chemicals against Russian opponent Alexei Navalny and former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who were poisoned.
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