On 21 March 2022 during the battle of Sumy, a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

airstrike damaged one of the

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wa ...

tanks at the Sumykhimprom plant, contaminating land within a radius including the villages of Novoselytsya and Verkhnya Syrovatka. Due to the direction of the wind, the city of

Sumy Sumy ( uk, Суми ) is a city of regional significance in Ukraine, and the capital of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel River in northeastern Ukraine with a population of according to the 2021 census, making it the 23 ...

was largely unaffected despite its proximity to the leak.

Background

Two days prior to the leak

Mikhail Mizintsev Mikhail Yevgenyevich Mizintsev (russian: Михаил Евгеньевич Мизинцев; born 10 September 1962) is a Russian colonel general currently serving as the deputy minister of defence of Russia for overseeing logistics since 24 Se ...

, the Chief of Russia's

National Defense Management Center The National Defense Management Center, also known as the National Defense Control Center (NDCC) (russian: Национальный центр управления обороной РФ, ) НЦУО, formerly the Central Command Post of the Gener ...

claimed that Ukrainian nationalists were plotting a false flag chemical attack in Sumy. Mizintsev alleged on 19 March that mines had been placed in chemical storage facilities at the plant to poison residents in case of Russian troops advancement into the city. He also alleged that a secondary school was similarly sabotaged in Kotlyarovo,

Mykolaiv Oblast Mykolaiv Oblast ( uk, Микола́ївська о́бласть, translit=Mykoláyivsʹka óblastʹ, ), also referred to as Mykolaivshchyna ( uk, Микола́ївщина, Mykoláivshchyna, ) is an oblast (province) of Ukraine. The administra ...

Leak

The leak was first reported at about 4:30 am local time on 21 March 2022 at the Sumykhimprom chemical plant, located in the suburbs of Sumy.

References

{{2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Ammonia March 2022 events in Ukraine Battle of Sumy Northeastern Ukraine campaign Disasters in Ukraine Chemical disasters 2022 disasters in Ukraine Airstrikes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Airstrikes conducted by Russia Pollution events in 2022