Toxic cloud billows over eastern Ukraine town after Russians 'hit nitric acid store'

1 June 2022, 14:26 | Updated: 1 June 2022, 14:39

An orange mushroom cloud has been filmed rising over Azot fertiliser factory in Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine.
An orange mushroom cloud has been filmed rising over Azot fertiliser factory in Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine. Picture: Twitter

By Lauren Lewis

An acid mushroom cloud has been filmed billowing in the sky over a town in eastern Ukraine after Russian forces 'hit a nitric acid storage facility'.

Footage said to have been filmed from Ukrainian defensive positions near the Azot fertiliser factory in Severodonetsk shows the orange cloud rising in the distance.

It is thought the cloud was released this morning after a nitric acid storage facility at the fertiliser factory was hit by Russian artillery fire, though this was not confirmed.

Video shows Ukrainian soldiers watching the cloud rise in the distance from what appears to be trenches.

Ukrainian authorities have warned residents of Severodonetsk to remain indoors and keep windows closed as it is thought the cloud contains toxic fumes.

Nitric acid can cause severe burns, scarring and cuts when in contact with skin or pulmonary edema, which can be fatal, when inhaled.

Read more: Denmark votes in referendum on EU defence amid Ukraine war

Regional Governor of Luhansk province Serhiy Hayday told Sky News on Tuesday that Russian forces were in control of more than 70 per cent of the city with heavy fighting for complete control ongoing elsewhere.

But he warned he believes "there is no sense in losing a lot of soldiers to recapture the city which has no strategic military sense".

"In a military sense the city doesn't matter because for example the neighbouring city of Lysychansk has more high ground and the military will have better positions.

"We've restrained the Russian army for more than three months, it must be understood, and they sent all their troops to capture the Luhansk region.

"The longer we resist, then the more we get foreign weapons, rearm the troops and then we can at least to stop the Russian army, later even counterattack."

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack nearby Lysychansk after capturing sister city Severodonetsk.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack nearby Lysychansk after capturing sister city Severodonetsk.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack nearby Lysychansk after capturing sister city Severodonetsk. Picture: Alamy

Read more: Biden says US sending medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine

It comes a day after President Joe Biden announced the US would send a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine to aid its forces as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region.

The rocket systems are part of a new 700 million dollar (£553 million) tranche of security assistance for Ukraine from the US that will include helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more, according to two senior administration officials.

The US decision to provide the advance rocket systems tries to strike a balance between the desire to help Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing arms that could allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war.

The Ukrainians have assured US officials that they will not fire rockets into Russian territory, according to the senior administration officials.

One official noted that the advanced rocket systems will give Ukrainian forces greater precision in targeting Russian assets inside Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that the US is “deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire”.

He added that the Kremlin does not trust Kyiv’s assurances that the multiple rocket launch systems supplied by the US will not be used to attack Russia.

“In order to trust (someone), you need to have experience with situations when such promises were kept. Regretfully, there is no such experience whatsoever,” Mr Peskov said.

The expectation is that Ukraine could use the rockets in the eastern Donbas region, where they could both intercept Russian artillery and take out Russian positions in towns where fighting is intense, such as Severodonetsk.

Read more: Sanctioned Russian oligarch’s megayacht hides in a UAE creek

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Conjoined twin who shot to fame with sister on The Oprah Winfrey Show marries army veteran in private ceremony

Conjoined twin who shot to fame with sister on The Oprah Winfrey Show marries army veteran in private ceremony

Israel Palestinians UN Security Council

Russia ‘abolishes’ monitoring of sanctions on North Korea with UN veto

Firefighters at the scene of a bus crash in Limpopo

Bus plunges from bridge in South Africa and erupts into flames, killing 45 and leaving child, 8, as lone survivor

Israel Palestinians Britain Aid

UN top court orders Israel to open more land crossings into Gaza

Music-Green Day UN

Green Day to headline UN-backed global climate concert

Exclusive
Starmer has vowed to resurrect Boris Johnson's 'Levelling Up' policy

Failure to ‘level up’ Britain would be ‘catastrophic’, Wes Streeting admits, as Starmer vows to resurrect Johnson policy

Border Force staff will walk out from April 11

Hundreds of Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport to stage four-day strike

Stephen Bear was ordered to pay Ms Harrison £5,000.

Disgraced reality TV star Stephen Bear ordered to pay £27,000 over revenge porn conviction or face nine months in jail

Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX founder Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for crypto fraud

Exclusive
Covid no excuse for death of Finley Boden who was murdered by drug-addled parents, child protection chief says

Covid no excuse for death of Finley Boden who was murdered by drug-addled parents, child protection chief says

France Valentino

Former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele named Valentino creative director

Know your limits this summer, Brits have been warned

‘Know your limits’: Brits heading to the Euros this summer warned against drinking ‘too much German beer’

Russia Shooting

Russia arrests another suspect in concert hall attack that killed 143

Sam Bankman-Fried has been jailed for 25 years for a $8bn crypto fraud

'Crypto King' Sam Bankman-Fried jailed for 25 years for stealing billions of dollars from his customers

Michael Gove has been urged to 'get on with' passing the rental reforms

Ministers accused of making 'major concessions to landlords' after renters reforms 'watered down'

Supermarket opening times for Easter 2024: Trading hour revealed for Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi

Supermarket opening times for Easter 2024: Trading hours revealed for Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi