- Ukraine's intelligence department is accusing Russia of rigging a Crimean chemical plant with mines.
- The explosion could send 200 tons of ammonia into neighboring regions, Ukraine claimed.
Ukraine's intelligence wing on Sunday accused Russia of rigging a chemical plant in Crimea to explode, saying it's observed Moscow's forces mining and evacuating the facility.
Should an explosion occur at the Crimean Titan plant, it would send 200 tons of ammonia into the atmosphere, which could spread to nearby districts in less than an hour, Ukraine's Department of Intelligence said in a briefing.
The Crimean Titan plant is located in Armyansk, a region on the northernmost tip of Crimea. Armyansk is one of the two land-based entryways into the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.
Ukraine's intelligence department said the plant keeps vast amounts of ammonia for its refrigerating equipment, which if released, would threaten the southern districts of the Kherson region.
"The terrorist attack on the Crimean Titan enterprise, for which the Russian invaders are preparing, will mean an artificial man-made catastrophe, terrible in its consequences," the intelligence department wrote.
High levels of ammonia can irritate a person's skin, throat, lungs, and eyes, and can even damage the lungs or cause death in some cases, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ukraine's claim comes as it launches its high-stakes counteroffensive along the front line, bringing to bear its arsenal of Western armor, artillery, and other weaponry. Kherson is one of the regions currently contested by both sides.
A massive dam in Kherson collapsed on June 6, unleashing floods upon neighboring settlements and threatening to disrupt the main water supply of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Both Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the breach.
It's precisely because of the dam's destruction that Russian forces started mining the Crimean Titan plant, Ukraine's intelligence department said.
Because of a lack of water in Armyansk, the plant can no longer operate at even a minimum capacity, the department said. It added that Russian-installed authorities in the region had been evacuated.
Russia's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.