KIEV, September 27. /TASS/. The fire at munitions depots in the village of Kalinovka in Ukraine’s central Vinnitsa region has destroyed weapons worth $800 million, said Ivan Vinnik, a secretary of the Ukrainian parliament’s committee on national security and defense.
"Today, munitions worth approximately $800 million have been destroyed by fire in Kalinovka. Therefore, suppose we speak that nothing has happened and say that tank ammunition had not been needed there since they would have been recycled… And in this case, we should have sold them and received $800 million in hryvnia equivalent in the budget," he said.
"It would have been worthless to declare a victory saying we had efficiently evacuated the population, which Ukraine’s Armed Forces boast a lot," Vinnik was quoted as saying by the UNN agency.
The defense ministry said that 70% of the munitions had been unaffected by the fire.
"At least 30% have been destroyed… Taking into regard, that the depot stored 60,000 tonnes, we derive the cost of ($800 mln)," he said.
On Tuesday, at about 22.00 local time, Ukraine’s State Emergencies Service was alerted after munitions had begun exploding at the depots in the Vinnitsa region. The Kalinovka munitions depot is reported to store over 83,000 tonnes. The military say the fire destroyed about 30% of the depots.
More than 30,000 people have been evacuated from the area, and the evacuations are still underway. The latest reports say that two people sustained wounds and remain in hospitals. The projectiles inflicted damage on four households. Roads are cordoned off and air space is closed to all aircraft in an area of 50 kilometers.