A fire and explosions at a rate of two to three a second hit a Ukrainian ammunition depot in Ichnia, Chernihiv region. More than 12 thousand people have already been taken out of the affected area, firefighting continues, as well as ammunition explosions.
The online broadcast about the situation in Ichnia has already been launched, we continue to follow and report on the explosions. In the meantime, a brief historical overview to show a bunch of such cases, since the explosions in Ichnia are not the first such situation.
Artemivsk (Donetsk region), October 2003
What?
The fire in the ammunition depots of the 52nd mechanized brigade of the 6th Army Corps of the Southern Operational Command of the Ground Forces on October 10, 2003.
When?
October 10, 2003.
Details
During the fire, about 3 thousand shells exploded, 10 of the 17 warehouses were destroyed. In addition, dozens of houses were damaged as a result of the explosions. The fire destroyed the military unit, where the warehouses were situated. In addition, due to the fire, the gas distribution station exploded.
Investigation
Two people were found guilty: the chief of the missile and artillery weapons service, Major Volodymyr Bevz, and the warehouse chief Valeriy Botnar. They were sentenced to 8 years in prison with the deprivation of military ranks.
Novobohdanivka (Zaporizhia region), 2004-2006
What?
Several cases of emergency in warehouses in Novobohdanivka. May 6, 2004, it happened first time.
Details
About 90 thousand tons of ammunition exploded for several days. The radius of dispersal of ammunition reached 40 km. As a result of the explosions, 5 people were killed, four more were injured. Only by May 19, the fire was fully extinguished.
The second time it happened on July 23, 2005.
Details
Due to the high air temperature, a warehouse caught fire at the 257th ammunition storage base. The fire was localized in 3.5 hours, several people were injured.
In 2006, fires in warehouses in Novobohdanivka occurred four times, all of them were quickly extinguished.
Investigation
During the investigation of the emergency in 2004, then-President Leonid Kuchma dismissed the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Olexandr Zatynayko and the Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces Peter Shuliak. Defense Minister Yevhen Marchuk was reprimanded.
In December 2008, the Military Court of the Dnipropetrovsk Garrison sentenced to six years in prison the former head of the Novobohdanivka military unit Serhiy Lilov and Oleh Selin.
Borys Kurbatov, a representative of the "Commonwealth" corporation, which was engaged in the disposal of ammunition, was sentenced to almost 2.5 years in prison for forgery.
Tsvitokha (Khmelnytsky region)
What?
Fire at a large 47th arsenal not far from Tsvitokha village, Khmelnytsky region.
When?
May 6, 2005.
Details
During the localization of fire, 9 militaries were injured. In total, about 110 thousand tons of ammunition was stored in the warehouses. The fire was localized on the same day.
Investigation
The investigation established that the warehouse was set on fire by one of the officers of the unit who had previously dealt with the military property.
By the spring of 2011, the amount of ammunition in warehouses in Tsvitokha was estimated at 57 thousand tons.
Lozova (Kharkiv region), August 2008
What?
Fire at the warehouse of the 61st Arsenal of the Southern Operational Command of the Ground Forces.
When?
August 27, 2008.
Details
About 95 thousand tons of shells were stored in the arsenal, its total area was about 500 hectares. Rescuers had to evacuate all residents within a radius of 3 km from the warehouses.
As a result of the fire and detonation of ammunition, five houses were burned down, buildings of 16 different enterprises, institutions, and district organizations were damaged.
Two people were found guilty of what happened: the commander of the unit, Oleksiy Polyakov, and his deputy, Olexandr Zaika. According to the investigation, they did not order to remove the landfill where the fire started. Subsequently, in 2009, the Military Court of Appeal of the Ukrainian Navy released Polyakov and Zaika under an amnesty.
After extinguishing the fire in the warehouses, almost 7.5 thousand ammunition remained, in connection with which it was decided to eliminate the arsenal. Until July 2, 2010, over 5 thousand tons of the remaining ammunition were taken out of the arsenal.
Svatove (Luhansk region), October 2015
When?
October 29, 2015.
Details
About 3.5 thousand tons of various ammunition were stored in the arsenal, which began to explode because of the fire. The center of the fire embraced about 300 square meters.
As a result of the incident, several houses were destroyed and the building of one of the schools was damaged. During the emergency, four soldiers died, four more were injured.
Investigation
In the Military Prosecutor's Office, official negligence was called the cause of the fire. The Commission found that the fire occurred as a result of the launch of a signal rocket that entered the territory from outside the warehouse.
Major Olexandr Lytvynenko was named the main defendant, he was charged with negligence in military service. Later it turned out that the nominally accused was not the head of the military warehouse, and the fire engine, which was supposed to be in stock but was sent to another place, was not subordinate to him.
In January 2016, Lytvynenko extended his detention for a month, but since then there has been no new data on the investigation of this case.
Balakliya (Kharkiv region), March 2017
What?
Arsenal area of 368 hectares, where 138 thousand tons of ammunition were stored, allegedly caught fire as a result of sabotage.
When?
March 23, 2017.
Details
Only after three days, the special bodies fully managed to extinguish the fire; cleaning the area took about a month. As a result of the explosions, two people died, another five were injured. Five houses in Balakliya were destroyed, more than 300 received various damages.
Investigation
The main version of what happened in Balakliya was called the attack. According to the chief military prosecutor, Anatoly Matios, a fire could have occurred as a result of sabotage.
By the way. Today it became known that the court reinstated the head of the storage of the arsenal in Balakliya.
Novoyanisol
What?
Explosions in weapons depots
When?
September 25, 2017
Details
In the area of the village Novoyanisol, Donetsk region, explosions occurred in ammo warehouses. The cause of the fire was called arson of dry grass.
In general, there were no serious consequences. Evacuation of the civilian population was not needed. A criminal case was opened in connection with art. 194 of the Criminal Code ("Intentional destruction or damage to property").
Kalynivka, September 2017
What?
Fire at an ammunition depot in Kalynivka (Vinnytsia region), resulting in a series of large-scale explosions.
When?
September 26, 2017.
Details
The 48th arsenal caught fire. At the time of the explosion, 188 thousand tons of ammunition (10 thousand conditional cars) were stored there in an area of 60 hectares. Among them were the Smerch, Uragan, and Grad rocket launchers. The 48th arsenal storage base has been deployed 2 km from the town of Kalynivka since November 1938.
Several people were injured.
Investigation
The military prosecutor's office of the Central region of Ukraine opened criminal proceedings on the fact of sabotage on the territory of the military unit. As a result, according to Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, more than 10 people were brought to justice.
And now Ichnia
Special bodies are now investigating the circumstances of the incident and evacuating people. Reports on the deaths are not yet forthcoming.
Read the original text at 112.ua.
