Ukrainian army deploys heavy weapons at a chemical plant in Kharkiv
The Ukrainian military has placed howitzers and multiple rocket launcher systems (MRLS) in the area of a cement and chemical plant in Kharkov, where there are tanks storing toxic liquids, said Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center.
“In Kharkov, on the premises of an experimental cement and coking plant near a densely populated residential area, units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces deployed D-30 howitzers and MLRS. These facilities have a large number of technical tanks containing toxic chemicals,” the general said.
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| Photo illustration Sputnik. |
According to him, if the tanks are destroyed, the chemicals will spread and pollute the air, the entire residential area and water supply, causing mass poisoning of people.
“The militants know that only civilians will become victims of their shameless actions, so they are deliberately provoking the Russian Armed Forces to return fire in order to hold the Russian side responsible for possible casualties among the local population,” Mizintsev said.
The general added that the Russian Defense Ministry had warned the so-called civilized West in advance that news of this and other similar provocations by the Ukrainian authorities was expected to be widely disseminated in the near future through the Western media and on various Internet sources.
Mr. Mizintsev also said that in Kramatorsk, in the area of schools No. 1, No. 3 and vocational school No. 39, Ukrainian military units also deployed military equipment, heavy weapons and ammunition depots, but did not evacuate residents of neighboring buildings.