Latest explosions at Balakliya arsenal result in three dead, four injured

For the second time in three years, the Balakliya artillery
and ammunition arsenal in the Kharkiv region caught fire on Nov. 15. This time,
however, it resulted in the deaths of two engineers and one soldier, in
addition to four soldiers injured, as confirmed on Nov. 15 by the General Staff
of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Base infrastructure and local residents were
not affected, the statement said.

The same afternoon, the Defense Ministry issued a
statement that the situation at the Balakliya central artillery and ammunitions
base was safe and under control after reports by local media of explosions
occurring. Military personnel were engaged in scheduled destruction of
ammunition and other elements that day in a designated area at the base, the
ministry said, reporting about 20 controlled explosions.

An Armed Forces commander confirmed on Nov. 16 that
inspectors determined no more explosions were occurring at the arsenal, where
fire-explosive safety conditions were being upheld, said the armyinform.com.ua
news site. In March 2017, the Balakliya arsenal erupted in fire,
destroying about 240 buildings at the base and forcing the evacuation of 20,000
nearby residents, with no serious injuries. The territory has been cleared of
ammunitions by at least 60% since then, the commander said.

Zenon Zawada: This is the latest embarrassing episode involving explosions at a
Ukrainian arsenal, of which there have been four in the last three years.
Safety conditions, particularly in the procedure for eliminating ammunition,
need to be renewed and maintained if the new Armed Forces leadership and
Defense Minister want to be taken seriously by the public.