A fire resumed on June 13 at an oil depot of oil company BRSM-Nafta in the town of Glevakha, 30 kilometers southwest of Kyiv.
The fire, which started on June 8 and was the biggest in Ukraine in half a century, has been variously attributed to violations of safety rules, arson allegedly committed by owners to get insurance, a competitor’s assault or a terrorist attack. Former Energy and Coal Industry Minister Eduard Stavytsky, who was reported to be the real owner of BRSM-Nafta, has been accused of causing the fire, while ex-Prosecutor General Vitaly Yarema and one of his deputies have come under fire for allegedly covering up presumed violations at BRSM-Nafta.
A 900 cubic meter reservoir was depressurized at about 11:50 a.m., the State Emergency Service said. As a result, the reservoir leaked, and a nearby 900 cubic meter fuel tank caught fire.
The report came almost immediately after the service said the fire had been put out. So far, at least four firefighters and one BRSM employee have been killed by the fire.
Mykola Chechotkin, head of the State Emergency Service, said on June 13 that there was a risk of another explosion at the oil depot.
“Currently there are 180 firefighters and 40 fire trucks at the oil depot,” he said. “This is enough to keep the situation under control.”
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on June 12 that the fire was a result of BRSM-Nafta failing to comply with regulatory authorities’ instructions.
BRSM-Nafta told the Kyiv Post it had complied with regulators’ instructors over the past 10 years and had taken into account their requests after the latest inspection in May.
The Interior Ministry started an investigation into the incident on June 9. Yury Shkvir, head of the oil depot, has been detained, while engineer Yury Yuzhanin, who is responsible for work safety at the depot, is being treated in a hospital and is also a suspect, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on June 12.
One of the versions being considered by the ministry is that the fire resulted from violations of safety rules, Avakov said on June 12, adding that BRSM-Nafta did not have necessary permits for the oil depot.
Another version is that the oil depot was deliberately burned to discredit the company and force its sale to competitors, he said.
The third version is that the fire was started to conceal theft of fuel and get insurance indemnity, according to Avakov.
State Security Service head Valentyn Nalyvaichenko said on June 12 that BRSM-Nafta is owned by former Energy and Coal Industry Minister Stavytsky, who is wanted in Ukraine on embezzlement charges, but the company denies links to Stavytsky. The ex-minister has been accused by critics, including former Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Deputy Governor Gennady Korban, of burning the oil depot to get insurance compensation before his Ukrainian assets are confiscated by law enforcement agencies.
Former Prosecutor General Vitaly Yarema and his deputies have also been accused of covering alleged crimes at BRSM-Nafta.
Nalyvaichenko said on June 12 that a former deputy of Yarema was a de facto co-owner of BRSM-Nafta but he did not name him. He said that the State Security Service and Interior Ministry would investigate his acquisition of the asset and proposed that the owners pay damages to the fire’s victims.
BRSM-Nafta could not comment on whether it is linked to the ex-deputy prosecutor general. The Prosecutor General’s Office did not immediately reply to a Kyiv Post request, while Yarema could not be reached for comment.
In October 2014 the Prosecutor General’s Office halted a criminal case against BRSM-Nafta into the sale of hazardous substances and illegal sales of excisable goods, Avakov said. The case was opened by the Interior Ministry in June 2014.
Last month the Interior Ministry opened another criminal investigation against the company, he said. BRSM-Nafta is accused of selling oil products through shell companies using fake documents, producing low-quality gasoline and diesel fuel at its oil depots and causing damage worth over Hr 1 billion as a result, Avakov added.
Law enforcement agencies are also investigating a criminal case into the illegal construction of the oil depot next to a military base, Oleksandr Turchynov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said on June 9. Military equipment had to be evacuated due to the risk of fire spreading to the base.
BRSM-Nafta believes that the fire was caused by a terrorist attack amid what Ukrainian authorities call a terrorist war launched by Russia throughout Ukraine. The company said it would hire independent foreign experts to investigate this version.
Fuel tanks at BRSM-Nafta’s oil depot burning on June 13.
Kyiv Post staff writer Oleg Sukhov can be reached at [email protected].
