Nitric acid tank hit and people told to stay at home in Ukraine
Residents of the eastern Ukrainian town of Rubizhne were told to stay indoors after a Russian attack hit a tank of nitric acid, causing a cloud of toxic smoke to blanket the area.
“It is not clear how much acid was in the tank, but the substance is quite toxic,” warned the head of Luhansk’s regional military administration, Serhiy Haidai, on Tuesday (5).
People were instructed to stay indoors or wear a face mask soaked in sodium solution and watch the wind direction.
“You better wait inside, this acid will decompose after the rain. But nobody knows when it will rain. So please watch this pink cloud and if it moves towards you – please hide inside and wait inside. This was a direct hit to the tank,” Haidai said in a statement.
This comes as the Russian military said it is shifting its focus to the eastern Donbass region following the withdrawal of forces from Kiev and northern Ukraine.
The armed forces of the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic said on Telegram that it was “Ukrainian nationalist formations” that blew up the acid tank before withdrawing from the city. The attack was said to have released a dangerous cloud of poisonous gas.
It was not immediately possible to independently verify the incident or establish who was responsible.
Western governments said they were concerned that Russia or its proxies could launch a chemical attack as part of the war in Ukraine and blame the other side. Moscow says it fears Ukraine’s use of weapons of mass destruction.
*with information from Reuters
Source: CNN Brasil

I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.