Injured in Moscow “act of terrorism”: Ukrainian saboteurs blow up ammonia pipeline
06/07/2023, 4:20 pm
Several people were reportedly injured in the attack on an ammonia pipeline near Kharkiv. That’s what Moscow says. The pipeline is currently closed, but is expected to be operational again shortly. This is also part of negotiations to extend the grain deal.
Russia accuses Ukraine of blowing up a major ammonia pipeline. A “Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group” “blew up” the currently unused Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said. It was an “act of terrorism” and several civilians were injured. In assigning blame, the ministry contradicts recent reports by Ukrainian authorities that Russian forces fired repeatedly on the Kharkiv line.
According to Russian sources, the incident took place on Monday night near a village in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, which Ukrainian troops had largely recaptured last autumn. The ammonia pipeline measures around 2,500 kilometers in total. It connects the Russian city of Togliatti on the Volga with the Ukrainian port city of Odessa on the Black Sea. With the start of the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, its operations were suspended.
The videos show a huge poisonous cloud in a forest area, which would have been caused by the ammonia leak from the pipeline. The toxic cloud extends in the Kharkiv region, near the city of Maksyutovka. An ammonia pipeline runs through there. According to the head of the military administration of the region, Oleg Sinegubov, six explosions were heard in the region.
Until then, Russia used the pipeline to export ammonia. With their help, more than 2.5 million tons of ammonia, an important component of fertilizers, were transported annually. Moscow is calling for the pipeline to resume operations. This is also part of talks to extend the grain deal between the two sides, which will allow for the export of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain. According to the Ministry of Defense, repairing the line will take between one and three months.