Posted on 08/27/2008 12:37:36 PM PDT by lizol
Fire strikes Ukraine ammunition dump
An ammunition dump was on fire near a town in the east Ukrainian region of Kharkiv today and some military personnel were evacuated from the area, the Emergencies Ministry and Defence Ministry said.
"A fire broke out in the military depot near the town of Lozovaya, we are taking steps to localise the blaze, the size of which we are checking," said a Defence Ministry spokesman.
The Defence Ministry said no one had been killed and military families had been evacuated from the area.
An Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman said the situation was "very serious" and other people were also being evacuated.
The fire first broke out in a nearby forest, where high winds prevented the fire services from extinguishing it, and swept into the ammunition dump, the Defence Ministry said.
Ukrainian news agencies quoted the police as saying the fire struck a suburb of Lozovaya where about 64,000 people live.
There have been several explosions and fires in Ukrainian arms depots in recent years. In May last year, an explosion at a depot in southern Ukraine killed two people during an operation to make ageing munitions safe.
Those cheap Russian arms blowing up?
Spetsnaz at work?
My thoughts, exactly. Expect accidents in Poland and other nations now independent of the (former) Soviet Union.
Definiately GRU and the spetznaz at work.
You can't just bury the stuff; you have to deactivate it and Ukraine's military budget is very tight.
The incident of the military dump going up the last time scared the Ukrainian's because although the government lied about the size of the problem (two small injuries, no big deal etc.)Agence France Presse was reporting explosions sending smoke and debris several kilometers from the dump. They actually shut down the main rail line north south until they could get things under control.
Untrained soldiers handling deteriorated, poorly stored munitions is always a recipe for an inadvertant fireworks display.
thanks for the explanation.......
No problem. My fiance is Ukrainian and I worry a lot about her family over there. The largest steel mill in the old Soviet Union is in Ukraine as is the largest open pit iron mine in Europe. Added to that the incredibly rich farmland (Ukraine will export 19 million tons of wheat alone this year) and you can see why Vladimir Putin’s cold eye is on Ukraine.
I feel somewhat the same for identical reasons. My girlfriend and intended is Lithuanian and hates the Soviets, having lived under the Soviet boot heel until it fell apart and she emigrated in the mid 80’s. Putin is salivating over Ukraine’s wealth and going through withdrawals over losing the other former Soviet satelites.
I’m under no illusion that a reverse domino scenario is foremost in his mind. Hope your fiance’s family stays safe.
Sure. A fire just happens to break out at an ammo dump in a largely Russian area. Sounds more like the beginning of a Moscow-run insurgency.
It could just be a coincidence, but this is exactly the kind of thing Spetsnaz troops are trained to do prior to an invasion; create havoc on military bases and infrastructure. This could be a none-to-subtle message to Ukraine. “Don’t step out of line, little brother”.
If I changed her name to Jennifer Lopez, I could walk her over the Tex-Mex border.
Anyways, it is suspicious. Chances are it was a normal mundane forest fire (happens all the time, and the Ukranians are like the Russians in terms of how well they store their stuff), but there is always that thought pounding away at the back of your brain that it might be something else ......
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.