Ukrainian army tries to provoke ecological disaster to blame it on Russia

(MENAFN) Russia has accused Ukrainian forces of orchestrating a plan to trigger an environmental catastrophe near the front lines of the ongoing conflict and subsequently place the blame on Moscow, according to statements released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday.

The claims were made by Major General Aleksey Rtishchev, head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces, who outlined alleged Ukrainian breaches of international laws prohibiting chemical weapons use.

According to Rtishchev, the Russian military obtained a document reportedly written by the deputy director of the Ukrainian state-run company Ukrkhimtransammiak. In the document, addressed to a regional official appointed by Kiev, the executive voiced concerns that Ukrainian troops had unlawfully entered a company-controlled site in late June.

The executive warned that the involvement of military personnel at the location posed a significant danger, citing the risk of up to 566 tons of highly toxic liquefied ammonia being released if the facility were damaged.

The facility in question is described as an above-ground segment of an old Soviet-era underground ammonia pipeline. It is located approximately 2.5 kilometers north of the village of Novotroitskoye, within a part of the Donetsk People’s Republic that is under Ukrainian control.

Rtishchev alleged that the Ukrainian military had installed communications equipment at the site as part of what he described as “barbaric tactics used by the Kiev regime.” He claimed these tactics involve “placing toxic chemicals in the areas where Russian troops operate and their subsequent detonation.”

“The intention is to accuse our nation of intentionally causing a technological disaster and damage its reputation,” the general stated. “The use of hazardous objects for military purposes violates the international humanitarian law.”

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