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The blowing up of the Kakhovka Dam in Kherson this week has brought the threat of nuclear catastrophe back to the fore. The reason: The Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant is located directly on the Kakhovka Reservoir and normally draws its cooling water from the Kakhovka Reservoir.
But the danger of a Chernobyl-like nuclear disaster is not only lurking in Zaporizhia. The risk of a chemical catastrophe is also increasing in Crimea, according to Ukrainian news agencies.
“The facility is already fully mined”
Accordingly, Russian army engineers allegedly attached explosives to the Crimean-Titan chemical industrial plant. This is located in the city of Armyansk in the north of the peninsula annexed by Russia. “The facility has already been completely mined, including the containers with acid, chlorine and reagents,” Ukrainian military analyst Roman Switan, 59, told the Ukrainian weekly Kiev Post.
An explosion can have fatal consequences. Because the industrial plant is located near a reservoir of toxic acids.
Oleksandr Prokudin (39), the Ukrainian-appointed head of the military administration of the Kherson region, urgently warned of the consequences of such an incident in a video recently published on Telegram. Accordingly, the explosion of the Crimean titan “is likely to release thousands of tons of toxic substances into the atmosphere” and cause an incident “worse than Chernobyl.”
Russians fear Ukrainian troops will attack Armyansk
According to Ukrainian military analyst Svitan, there is a strategic reason for placing the explosives. “The Russians saw that the Ukrainian forces could cross the Dnieper River and attack Armyansk,” the Ukrainian told the newspaper.
Blowing up the industrial facility would therefore make militarily sense for the Russians, as the chemical emissions could slow down the movement of Ukrainian troops.
Repeated attacks on critical infrastructure
With nearly 5,000 employees, Krim-Titan is one of the largest Eastern European producers of titanium dioxide for the chemical industry. This is a chemical used in paints, sunscreens, medicines, and food dyes.
It is unclear whether the Ukrainian military experts will prove right and whether the Russian forces will actually attack the Crimean Titan afterwards.
However, it is not unlikely – since Russian President Vladimir Putin (70) ordered the invasion of Ukraine, there have been repeated attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. (dzc)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
