State enterprise UkSATSE that oversees air transportation in Ukraine has temporarily closed air space in a 40 km radius near an ammunition warehouse fire in Kharkiv region. Firefighters are attempting to put out fires at the Balaklia ammunition military munitions warehouses.
Deputy Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Lavreniuk said two firefighting trains of Ukrzaliznytsia have been dispatched to the area to help with firefighting efforts. He said they are located at Shablynka Station and are awaiting further instructions from State Emergencies Service.
“Workers at the Balaklia railway station have been evacuated. If necessary, Ukrzaliznytsia can send trains to evacuate the population. So far, no request has been made,” he said.
Lavreniuk said he is in contact with state emergency officials, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, adding officials are “keeping the situation under control.”
As of 7.00 this morning almost 25 percent of the ammunition warehouse was ablaze. Some 15,000 people have been evacuated. Railway passenger transportation to Balaklia has been suspended.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has flown to Kharkiv region because of the disaster.
“I received information about explosions at the ammunition warehouse near Kharkiv. I am travelling to the scene of the disaster to ensure the safety of citizens,” Groysman said on his Twitter page. He added that he is in contact with official agencies coordinating relief efforts.
Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine Anatoliy Matios said the disaster may have been caused deliberately.
“According to preliminary information from prosecutor’s office of the Kharkiv garrison (where Balaklia is located), as a result of a diversion, there was an explosion this morning at 3:02 at several locations storing rocket-artillery munitions (tank and artillery shells, 125 mm and 152 mm) near Balaklia in Kharkiv region,” Matios said, adding that Ukrainian Border Guard Service troops have been put on heightened alert along Ukraine’s eastern border [with Russia].
