An explosion in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, drew a lot of attention on social media. In no time, numerous false claims were made.
On May 13, 2023, a large explosion occurred near the Ukrainian town of Khmelnytskyi, followed soon after by a second one. The resulting fireball was huge (see video). Videos of it quickly spread across the web, as did speculation about what might have happened there. Claims ranged from a “US/NATO taxpayer arms depot” to a uranium stockpile. Radiation levels in Ukraine, but also in neighboring Poland, have increased. But the rumors are wrong.
What happened?
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, on the night of May 13-14, Russia attacked Ukraine with 21 drones. 17 of them can be shot down. The other four “reached the territory of the Khmelnytskyi region”. So far, the Luftwaffe has not commented on where each of them hit. However, it can be assumed that the impact of one of the four drones can be seen in the videos circulating on social media (see video above).
Where did the drone hit?
The explosion happened about three kilometers from the gates of the city of Khmelnytskyi, in military unit A3013. This is clearly demonstrated by comparing videos with various map services (see the following series of images). The prospect identified using the details seen in the clips points to a location that “in the past – at least until 2011 – served as an ammunition depot”, said a Ukrainian source quoting DPA-factchecking.com.
The explosion near Khmelnytskyi was filmed from several perspectives. ScreenshotTwitter
Satellite images from Earth observation company Planet Labs show that the site was destroyed in the days leading up to the explosion.
Satellite images from recent decades show that not much has changed at the destroyed site for years. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the ammunition still stored there was detonated by the drone attack.
The latest available satellite image of military unit A3013 on Google Earth Pro was taken in October 2021. At that time, the area was still intact.Screenshot from Google Earth Pro
There is no evidence of this. Not even in a study (PDF) by the Bonn International Conversion Center (BICC) on “old stocks of ammunition and small arms and light weapons in Ukraine” from 2005. In this study, author Leonid Polyakov lists which ammunition is being demilitarized due to security concerns should. Whether his advice was followed is unknown. Therefore, it could be that the weapons listed were still stored there in mid-May 2023. According to the 2011 article, around 30,000 ammunition was stored there at the time.
This is Polyakov’s list of weapons and ammo that he says need to be demilitarized Screenshot BICC/Leonid Polyakov/2005
What about the supposedly increased radiation levels?
There was and is talk of an increase in radioactive radiation in the region and in Poland, especially on social media and in the Russian state media RT and “Sputnik”. It is sometimes said that in Lublin, Poland, an “increase in the value of bismuth by a factor of six or seven” was recorded. In Khmelnytskyi, “the measured gamma radiation is said to have almost doubled.”
According to their own statements, the official bodies of both countries did not find anything of the kind: The Polish Atomic Energy Agency stated that the radiation situation in the country is normal: “Temporary, increased values \u200b\u200bof the radiation background nature are not uncommon and occur regularly, for example when it rains.” This actually existed at the time in question, writes the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, whose measurement data supporters of the radioactivity hoax cite as alleged evidence. Both institutions emphasize that the determined levels of radiation “are not significant for health” and “do not represent a threat to life or health”.
The rumor of rising radiation levels is often shared along with a graph based on measurement data from Maria Curie Skłodowska University. But it is used in a manipulative way. ScreenshotTwitter
Authorities also dismissed reports of increased levels around Khmelnytskyi: the military administration described such allegations as “false information”: “We emphasize that no deviations from standards of radiation and other life-threatening substances were found in the region”. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is also not aware of any increase in radiation levels, as it told Newsweek.com. The Italian Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (INSI) also noted that it “did not register any anomalies in terms of radioactivity” after the explosion.
If you look at the data for the last twelve months, for example, you will see that the measured radiation was higher many days – before and after – than on May 15, 2023. Screenshot Umcs.pl
Ukraine’s state-owned Center for Combating Disinformation condemned the false allegations in a statement as part of a “disinformation campaign”. A document shared on Telegram, which allegedly comes from the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and warns of increased radiation, is also wrong.
Conclusion
There are indications that the explosion occurred in an ammunition depot that was working or still working at the time of the attack, about three kilometers from the Ukrainian town of Khmelnytskyi. There is no evidence that radioactive weapons were stored there. Allegations that there was an increase in radioactive radiation in the air after the detonation are false, according to national and international authorities.
Rfi navigation account, time 20 minutes 05/24/2023, 19:04 | Act: 05/24/2023, 7:04 pm