MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/. Several explosions were heard near the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline in the Kharkov Region’s Kupyansk district, head of the region’s military administration, Oleg Sinegubov, said on Tuesday.
According to Sinegubov, six blasts were reported near a pumping station in the village of Maksyutovka. "As of now, there is no ammonia in the air. The situation is under control," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
On Monday, he reported a loss of pressure at the ammonia pipeline in the Kupyansk district. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky pledged on Tuesday that the pipeline would be restored "if need be."
The resumption of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline’s operation is part of the package deal to export Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. The grain deal was extended for two months on May 18. The Russian foreign ministry said earlier that the part of the deal concerning obligations to Moscow is not being implemented. Moscow insists on granting Russian ships access to foreign ports, settling the situation around cargo insurance, connecting Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT system, and commissioning the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline. After the deal was prolonged, Moscow expressed the hope that its demands would be met and warned that if they weren't, the deal might not be extended again.