Ichnia ammunitions fire caused by sabotage, prosecutors claim

The October ammunitions depot fire in
Ichnia was the result of sabotage, said military prosecutor
Hryhoriy Riabenko, as reported by the hormadske.ua news site on Nov. 7. A
saboteur gained access to the depot and placed an explosive among the stored
ammunitions, he said. Investigators are still trying to determine how that
happened. In October, Military Prosecutor General Anatoliy Matios said the explosive
could have been detonated with the use of an unidentified mobile phone that had
been operating in the region.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed on Nov. 7
a law establishing the criminal penalty for barred Russian citizens and Russian
law enforcement authorities for entering Ukraine illegally. The law, which also
applies to Russian military personnel, establishes penalties for those crossing
the Ukrainian border beyond official crossings or without the proper documents.

Zenon Zawada: The Ichnia
fire proves that the Russian government still has a network of saboteurs among
Ukrainian citizens capable of terrorist acts. While the government’s move to
restrict illegal access to Russian military and law enforcement officials is a
positive step for Ukrainian security, incidents like the Ichnia fire were
likely caused by Ukrainian citizens.

In targeting military sites such as Ichnia,
pro-Russian forces are trying to convince the Ukrainian public that not only is
Poroshenko mishandling the war, but war with Russia is simply not worth the
costs involved. Pro-Russian forces are avoiding civilian targets because that
would turn the public against them. Instead they are targeting military sites.

The biggest threat to Ukrainian independence at
this point – besides the Kremlin itself – is a strong result for
Russian-oriented forces in the October 2019 parliamentary elections. Their
results will reveal just how effective the Kremlin has been in convincing
Ukrainians to give up the fight.