DPR labels blast at gas pipeline in Donetsk as terrorist attack — agency
According to the intelligence obtained by the DPR security ministry, the plotters of the alleged sabotage had initially planned a massive explosion, but failed in that for technical reasons
DONETSK, July 17. /TASS/. The State Security Ministry of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has launched an investigation into the explosion at the gas pipeline in Donetsk, defining it as an act of sabotage staged by the Ukrainian security forces, the Donetsk news agency said on Saturday.
"The DPR State Security Ministry has defined the blast at the gas pipeline as a terrorist attack - a deliberate act of sabotage by Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement.
According to the intelligence obtained by the DPR security ministry, the plotters of the alleged sabotage had initially planned a massive explosion, but failed in that for technical reasons.
On Friday, a medium pressure gas pipeline blew up near Mushketovo train station in the Donetsk after an explosive device had been activated with a military detonator, said Mikhail Popov, the DPR security ministry’s spokesman, said.
"In accordance with preliminary conclusions of the DPR Interior Ministry’s forensic center, the explosive device was activated with the Karandash (Pencil) mine detonator, which part was recovered on the streetcar tracks of the bridge. In this weather, the delay of this detonator is up to 20 minutes," Popov said adding that the detonation damaged a gas pipe.
Natalia Nikonorova, the DPR plenipotentiary representative to the Minsk peace talks and the republic’s foreign minister, said on Saturday that the DPR plans to discuss the incident at a meeting of the Contact Group. The DPR foreign minister added that representatives of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) had been invited to inspect the site of the explosion in Donetsk and draw up a report recording all the circumstances of the incident.