Ukraine strikes chemical plant – DPR
Ukrainian rockets loaded with cluster bombs damaged a chemical plant in the Donetsk People’s Republic on Thursday and caused an electrical fire, according to local officials. The “Stirol” factory halted operations but there was no chemical release and the fire was eventually put out, authorities in the city of Gorlovka said.
The plant was struck on Thursday afternoon by two missiles from Ukrainian “Uragan” multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), Gorlovka Mayor Ivan Prikhodko said on Telegram. The rockets were allegedly loaded with cluster munitions, which exploded and started a fire at the electrical substation inside the “Stirol” plant and on the roof of the nearby “Transammiak” factory.
“Stirol” director Vasily Agarkov told local media that the factory halted operations until the fire was extinguished. Agarkov said that about 40 cluster bombs were scattered inside the factory, but that there was no risk of a chemical release. There were no reports of casualties.
Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) emergency services said they received a fire call shortly after 6 pm local time, and it took the firefighters until 7:45 to localize the blaze.
This was the second artillery attack on “Stirol” this month. On August 12, Ukrainian shelling, as claimed by DPR officials, also caused a fire at the plant, hitting a warehouse with construction materials.
Gorlovka is located northeast of Donetsk city, with heavy fighting currently going on north and west of the city between Russian and DPR forces on one side, and Ukrainian troops on the other.
Before the conflict, “Stirol” used to be one of Europe’s largest producers of mineral fertilizers, accounting for 3% of the global export of ammonia and related compounds.
Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”
In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.
