Donetsk, Oct 9 - DAN. The fire at the Chernigov missile artillery depot occurred after NATO officials visit to the site, Donetsk People’s Republic People’s Militia spokesman Daniil Bezsonov said on Tuesday.
“The fire at the 6th Arsenal in the Chernigov region was no accident; it was the fourth Ukrainian army depot fire in the past two years,” Bezsonov said.
He said the fire might have been started to conceal arms and munition thefts. According to intelligence reports, the 6th Arsenal stored 130,000 tons of ammunition, including missiles, tank gun rounds and cannon and missile artillery rounds in September 2017. As of the time of military prosecutor’s inspection, 80,000 tons of ammunition remained at the depot.
“I’d like to note that a group of foreign officers including high-ranking NATO officials visited the site last week,” the spokesman said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Ukrainian General Staff reported an explosion and fire at the arms depot in the Chernigov region overnight to October 8. It did not specify the amount of stored ammunition. The depot, sprawled on nearly 700 hectares, is one of the largest in Ukraine.*jk