Fire, explosions and the whistle of shells: what is happening in Donetsk

By Denis Grigoryuk

On September 25, the morning of residents of the Kuybyshevsky district of Donetsk began with the whistling of shells, explosions and black smoke. In the western part of the city there was a fire at an aluminum plant.

As a result of the incident, the leadership of the Republic decided to evacuate people from the danger zone.

Photo by G. Kazakov

Why was the Kuibyshevsky district evacuated? What caused the fire at the aluminum smelter? What is currently known about the fire in the Kuibyshev district?

On the morning of September 25, footage of rising clouds of black smoke in the Kuibyshev district appeared on social media. The head of the district administration, Ivan Adamets, announced that there was a large-scale fire. Earlier it was believed that there was an explosion at the ammunition depot. Later it became known that the aluminum plant caught fire.

Details were reported by the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Heavy weapons were fired at the Kuybyshevsky district of Donetsk and the village of Lozova at 6:50 a.m. In an official statement, the DPR People’s Militia said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) used 152 mm and 122 mm artillery, which is prohibited by the Minsk agreements. At least 50 shells were fired at Lozova alone. Local residents said that shells flew from the village of Peski, which is controlled by the Ukrainian military. The press service of the People’s Militia named the commander of the Ukrainian army responsible for shelling the west of the capital of the DPR. It turned out to be the commander of the 28 Brigade of the AFU named Marchenko.

Emergency services were sent to the scene of the shelling in the Kuybyshevsky district, but rescuers could not get to the damaged civilian infrastructure due to the ongoing shelling by the AFU. As soon as the Ukrainian military stopped shooting at peaceful neighborhoods, the Ministry of Emergency Situations went to the scene.

According to official information, as a result of shelling of the Kuybyshevsky district, the production facilities of the Zenit plant, in which there were stockpiles of various chemicals, were damaged. Clouds of black smoke rose into the sky. Due to the chemical fire, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the DPR evacuated part of the area adjacent to the aluminum smelter. People were taken to temporary accommodation centers. According to information from rescuers, 23 pieces of equipment and 93 personnel were involved, and a mobile command post was also deployed.

The Ministry of Health of the DPR reported that there were no victims from the incident in the Kuibyshev region.

“There are no casualties as a result of the incident. Everyone is alive and well. The ambulance crews, who are in place, did not take anyone away,” the ministry said in an official statement.

Official sources do not report explosions in ammunition depots.

While Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was at the UN General Assembly, in the best traditions of his predecessor, showing a bullet to the entire world community [repeating the lie that Ukraine is the victim of “Russian aggression” – translator], the Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled Donetsk and nearby settlements with arms prohibited by the Minsk agreements. At the same time, Kiev reports that it is withdrawing heavy equipment from the line of contact. The new political leadership of Ukraine, which came to office thanks to peaceful rhetoric, already demonstrates its inconsistency and unwillingness to comply with Minsk-2.

But there is nothing to be surprised at when the official representatives of Ukraine report on the international platform that they are ready to comply with the political clauses of the Minsk Agreements, while inside the country they say that they will never give special status to Donbass. It is logical that Kiev is not going to stop firing on peaceful neighborhoods, nor will it generally implement the peace plan. Today’s situation has shown the true Ukrainian position in all its glory, not the empty words of politicians.

It’s all too familiar. After five years of armed conflict, this situation has been repeated again and again. In Donbass, no one is truly surprised by this. Only one question arises: what has to happen in order for Kiev to finally abandon the war with Donbass?

Source

Translated by Greg Butterfield