Donetsk, Oct 19 – DAN. Ukrainian troops have placed 2,000 tons of artillery rounds and rockets on the premises of Illich Steel and Iron Works in Mariupol, said DPR Operations Command deputy commander Eduard Basurin citing intelligence sources.
"Over 2,000 tons of artillery rounds and rockets have been delivered to the plant and are stored in violation of safety requirements. In case of emergency the city of Mariupol will be exposed to a catastrophe," Basurin said.
According to intelligence reports, 20 T-80 tanks, 50 APCs, 20 mortars, 14 122mm self-propelled Gvozdika 2C1 artillery systems and eight 122mm D-30 artillery systems have been placed on the plant's warehouses premises and in its hangars.
Basurin said the information on the equipment storage is missing from OSCE SMM reports, despite the SMM HQ located in Mariupol.
"This fact raises questions. Are OSCE members not allowed to the plant or do they purposefully conceal those facts? If they are denied access, why do they not mention it in their reports?"
The DPR and LPR have warned the international community about the hazard of Ukrainian enterprises where chemicals are stored with major violations of safety requirements. Illich Steel and Iron Works is one of them, if chemicals stored there infiltrate water or soil, a major environmental disaster can affect the city of Mariupol and cause water shortage for hundreds of thousand people living on both sides of the contact line.
Explosions hit Ukrainian arms depots almost twice a year. Investigators believe the main reason is violation of safety requirements. *ot