Russian cruise missiles that hit a Ukrainian chemical plant were yards from a fertilizer plant that would have “completely enveloped Odessa in a toxic cloud.”
- A Russian missile landed at a chemical plant in Odessa, Ukraine, on Friday
- It struck just meters away from storage tanks containing 120,000 tons of explosive liquid
- Had the tanks been hit, the whole city could have been enveloped in a cloud of poison
- On impact, the rocket burst into a fireball, leaving a crater 10 feet deep and 40 feet wide
A Russian cruise missile narrowly avoided an environmental disaster when it struck a Ukrainian chemical plant in the southern port city of Odessa.
The Kalibr rocket, traveling at 2,200 mph, struck the ammonia plant under a false flag around 5 p.m. Friday, May 20, missing its storage tanks by just 100 meters.
The missile exploded into a fireball on impact, creating a crater 10 feet deep and 40 feet wide, reports The Sun.
The storage tanks at the Odessa chemical plant contain 120,000 tons of explosive, highly toxic pressurized fluid.
A military source explained: “If the ammonia had gone up, the consequences would have been catastrophic – the whole city could have been enveloped in a toxic cloud.
The Odessa chemical plant was hit by a Russian missile on Friday, narrowly missing its storage tanks
A man sweeps debris next to a shopping and entertainment center in Odessa, Ukraine, Friday May 13, 2022, which was destroyed after the May 9 hit by Russian missiles
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“It was the fourth time they tried this – at a time when the wind would have blown the chemical fallout towards Odessa
“If the disaster they planned had happened, they would inevitably have blamed the Ukrainian armed forces for sabotaging their own facility.”
Russian propaganda had previously focused on the plant, spreading false rumors that a Ukrainian “provocation” was planned there.
After Friday’s blast, workers complained of a strong smell of ammonia, but serious damage has been contained.
Russian invaders focused their efforts on Odessa after capturing Mariupol further along the south coast.