Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and had previously worked with news outlets including the Daily Express You can get in touch with Isabel by emailing i.vanbrugen@newsweek.com or by following her on X @isabelvanbrugen either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Russia is preparing a "man-made catastrophe" at the Titan chemical plant in annexed Crimea "In the temporarily occupied Armyansk in the north of the Crimean peninsula the Russians are preparing for the evacuation of both representatives of the occupation administration and the local population," it said The GUR said that as a result of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka last week and the subsequent lack of water in the North Crimean Canal manufacturing processes at the Crimean Titan plant in Armyansk "have been disrupted to a critical level." Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for the damage to the critical Soviet-era dam in southern Ukraine on the Dnieper River. It was breached in the early hours of June 6, unleashing water on swaths of territory as a counteroffensive from Kyiv kicked off which has traditionally delivered 85 percent of the water to Crimea takes water from the now-destroyed Nova Kakhovka reservoir Most of the water from the North Crimean Canal is used for farming or industry but about a fifth is used for drinking water "The Russians consider it impossible to resume operations at a minimally acceptable level There are reports circulating within the temporarily occupied territory of Armyansk about the potential shutdown of the Crimean Titan facility," the GUR said the engineering units of the occupying army have been placing mines within the workshops of the operational enterprise while also planting explosives in both the factory and the surrounding area." The intelligence agency added: "The terrorist attack on the Crimean Titan enterprise for which the Russian invaders are preparing will mean an artificial man-made catastrophe The plant's refrigerating equipment uses some 200 tons of ammonia Inhaling the substance can cause a burning sensation in the eyes The GUR said that if there is an explosion at the plant an ammonia cloud could cover the surrounding areas in half an hour and the southern districts of Ukraine's Kherson region will be under threat more than 4,000 people were evacuated from a polluted area in Armyansk after chemical substances were released from the plant and residents to suffer symptoms including headaches said at the time that the concentration of sulfurous anhydride in the air had exceeded acceptable levels the plant produced titanium dioxide pigment Newsweek reached out to Russia's Foreign Ministry via email for comment Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all 52 military and civilian personnel from 28 OSCE participating States currently form (16:30 7 March) the contingent of military visitors sent by OSCE participating States at the request of Ukraine to dispel concerns about unusual military activities The personnel attempted to enter the Crimea region at the Armyansk crossing point on 6 March 2014 and a second by unidentified military personnel Ukraine's intelligence wing on Sunday accused Russia of rigging a chemical plant in Crimea to explode saying it's observed Moscow's forces mining and evacuating the facility Should an explosion occur at the Crimean Titan plant, it would send 200 tons of ammonia into the atmosphere, which could spread to nearby districts in less than an hour, Ukraine's Department of Intelligence said in a briefing. The Crimean Titan plant is located in Armyansk a region on the northernmost tip of Crimea Armyansk is one of the two land-based entryways into the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine Ukraine's intelligence department said the plant keeps vast amounts of ammonia for its refrigerating equipment would threaten the southern districts of the Kherson region "The terrorist attack on the Crimean Titan enterprise terrible in its consequences," the intelligence department wrote Ukraine's claim comes as it launches its high-stakes counteroffensive along the front line bringing to bear its arsenal of Western armor Kherson is one of the regions currently contested by both sides A massive dam in Kherson collapsed on June 6 unleashing floods upon neighboring settlements and threatening to disrupt the main water supply of Crimea Both Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the breach It's precisely because of the dam's destruction that Russian forces started mining the Crimean Titan plant the plant can no longer operate at even a minimum capacity It added that Russian-installed authorities in the region had been evacuated Russia's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours What many had feared came to pass on Thursday as Russia invaded Ukraine in an attack by land there were fears that this escalation will lead to a humanitarian and social catastrophe Caritas Ukraine is now in the eye of the storm mobilizing resources to help those in need The task is a mammoth one in a country that has already seen eight years of conflict following the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and an ongoing Russian-backed insurgency in the east of Ukraine Added to that are the COVID-19 pandemic and the deteriorating economic situation in the country that has led to an increase in poverty Caritas Ukraine began preparations for a possible escalation in the conflict last summer On Thursday morning Caritas Ukraine had several meetings with its teams from across Ukraine in order to plan for the road ahead “We are gathering our resources to respond to the potential humanitarian crisis,” said Communications Director “We are working closely with our partner organisations from all Caritas networks to collect enough resources to cover all needs which soon will be even more increased.” and shelter “because you probably know on the east part of Ukraine now there is a really hard fight and the Russian troops are trying to attack.” He went on to say that people are leaving from the eastern part of Ukraine and heading to centre of the country “I cannot say it’s now a huge amount of people but I can predict that some of the people that lived near the contact line on the east of Ukraine they would prefer to move to the centre part of Ukraine and maybe the more western part of Ukraine,” he said Asked about the safety of personnel as parts of the country are hit by shelling Mr Shelokov stressed that “in the cities where we don’t have any security guarantees for our personnel we don’t operate any activities.” He added that the information he received on Thursday morning confirmed that all Caritas staff were safe and well the Communication Director emphasized that people in Ukraine are united Thank you for reading our article. 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Just click here Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Russia is running out of reserve troops and weapons it desperately needs to sustain its fighting in Ukraine "Contrary to what the Russian Federation declares, it has absolutely no strategic reserve," Kyrylo Budanov told The Economist in an interview published on Sunday Budanov cited Russia's underperforming troops and Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with his North Korean counterpart "If everything is fine and Russia has enough resources why are they looking for them all over the world There is nothing to extract any more," he said Budanov pointed to the "premature" deployment of Russia's 25th Combined Arms Army in early August which he said had only 80% of the manpower and 55% of the equipment it needed to operate effectively The UK Ministry of Defence also reported earlier this month that Russia had likely deployed the 25th early It's likely that it was "rushed into action early" as Russia "continues to grapple with an over-stretched force along the front and Ukraine continues its counter-offensive on three different axes," the MOD said.  While Russia is reportedly poised to step up its mobilization drive Budanov told The Economist that head count is the only obvious advantage that Russia retains over Ukraine When it comes to Russian human resources "the quality is low Given what he called Russia's dwindling military resources Budanov predicted that Russia's economy will survive only until 2025 and its flow of weapons will dry up in 2026 or "perhaps earlier," he told the outlet.  Burdanov acknowledged that Ukraine also risks running out of resources but he insisted his country has Western allies ready to supply them with aid While some Ukrainian officials have said they are noticing a "shift" in their partners' readiness to continue supplying support at the same level Budanov said he had "good intelligence" about realities in the West "Warehouses in Western countries are not completely empty "We can see this very clearly as an intelligence agency." A Russian commander was ousted following a wave of outrage at his poor leadership from military bloggers, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports The ISW reported that Russian military bloggers claimed that they had a hand in removing the senior officer following a series of setbacks endured by his brigade including notable losses due to the poor use of artillery and subpar leadership while fighting in the Kherson region Russian military bloggers amplified the "significant losses due to inadequate artillery support and poor leadership in the Kherson direction," triggering the removal of the disgraced commander claimed the bloggers One of the Russian milbloggers stated on September 30 that the removal of this commander is a "rare case" in which truth and justice prevailed A Russian brigade officially has at least 2,000 soldiers, and the commander holds the rank of colonel. Russia illegally annexed Kherson Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed Russians on the anniversary of the annexation of the four regions insisting it was done in "full accordance with international norms." В августе 2023 года Александр Копыле́ц из Армянска оказался фигурантом уголовного дела за веру в Бога Иегову Незадолго до этого от продолжительной болезни умерла его мать На попечении верующего остался отец с инвалидностью Александр родился в июле 1977 года в Крыму В детстве Александр любил кататься на велосипеде и слушать музыку После школы он окончил Херсонский государственный технический университет по специальности «Оборудование химических производств и предприятий строительных материалов» До 2006 года работал мастером участка на химическом заводе Затем стал заниматься строительными работами и переехал в поселок городского типа Первомайское (Крым) Еще в детстве Александр начал читать Новый Завет когда позже он познакомился со Свидетелями Иеговы то сверял их убеждения и образ жизни с тем В 1996 году он принял осознанное решение стать на христианский путь Елена тоже решила стать на христианский путь Из-за уголовного преследования Александр оказался под домашним арестом лишился возможности обеспечивать семью и быть рядом с женой которая ухаживает за своей парализованной мамой Хотя родные Александра не разделяют его убеждений они шокированы уголовным преследованием мирного верующего человека Этот веб-сайт использует cookie. 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Вы можете узнать больше о видах cookie, которые мы используем, на странице Политика конфиденциальности и использования cookie Today's print edition Home Delivery Russia's invasion of Ukraine looks designed to take Kyiv and create a land corridor south to the Black Sea military analysts and former officials said President Vladimir Putin may still seek some form of control over the entire country as he strives to stop Ukraine ever joining NATO defense official said Friday that Russia was facing more resistance than it expected not least in its advance on Kyiv.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); The tactics of the advancing Russian troops point to a "flanking movement" from Ukraine's weakest points — its northern border with Belarus In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Ecologists and doctors blame disaster on release of industrial pollution with residents on both sides of border being treated for breathing problems I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice people noticed that metal items like children’s swings were rusting Pollution has been blowing across the de facto border between Russian-controlled Crimea and mainland Ukraine since August prompting authorities to evacuate about 4,000 children from towns and villages on both sides of the border Ecologists and doctors say the culprit was a significant release of industrial pollution which has resulted in many children being treated for breathing ailments and allergies The border between Russian-controlled Crimea and mainland Ukraine has been a geopolitical flash point since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 adding an extra complication to the ecological crisis Russian and Ukrainian officials have offered differing explanations for the problem, though both point to a Crimean chemical factory that makes titanium dioxide, a powder that is a precursor for paint, toothpaste and many other products. Over decades, the factory, Titan, formed a gigantic effluent pond of sulphur waste that has acidified. Russian authorities say the pond is the source, while Ukrainians point to current operations at the factory. Residents who remain in the area close their windows and stay indoors. Armyansk, a city on the Russian-controlled side with a population of about 22,000, was an eerie ghost town when Abdureshyt Dzepparov drove through in early September. “It was unnatural,” he said. “There were few people in the town. The leaves had fallen off the trees, though it was very early fall, and the grass in the fields was black.” Before the Russian annexation of Crimea, a canal diverting water from the Dnieper River in mainland Ukraine had fed the pond during dry summers. Ukraine, which along with the United States and European nations has refused to recognize the annexation, has since cut this water supply, drying up the pond, concentrating the acid and leaving a residue that is now blowing about. Residents on both sides of the border have complained of coughing, allergies and a burning sensation in the nose and throat. “People were on edge, very nervous,” Svitlana Godun, a pulmonologist who visited four of 12 affected villages on the Ukrainian side of the border, said in a telephone interview. “They worried about their future and their health.” The Russian authorities in Crimea shut the factory a week ago. It is unclear how this would help if the effluent reservoir is to blame. Russian officials have evacuated about 3,000 children from areas near the factory and Ukraine has evacuated about 700 children from areas on its side of the border. On Friday, the Russian regional government in Crimea declared a state of emergency in Armyansk, where many people were wearing face masks because of the sulfurous stench. Viktor Korolenko, head of the health care department of the Kherson region of Ukraine, which borders Crimea, said doctors are concerned not only about the breathing complaints, but also about stomach ailments in children eating contaminated fruit and vegetables, or ingesting chemicals picked up on their hands. “The pollution fell on pears and apples,” which are harvested at this time of year,” he said. The titanium dioxide plant has operated for nearly half a century and employed about 4,000 Crimean residents. But those living on the Ukrainian side of the border now see it as a threat. “We are used to sulphur when the wind blows in our direction, but there has never been rust everywhere,” said Liliia Simeiko, 44. “If it corrodes metal, it also has an impact on the lungs.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies drones of the Security Service of Ukraine attacked the Russian Nebo-SVU long-range radar detection system the drones were an in-house development of SSU military counterintelligence It controlled a 380-kilometer section of the frontline and provided terrorists with protection of their facilities in the temporarily occupied Crimea space reconnaissance systems detected a blackout of the Nebo-SVU radar The SSU special operation made the Russian air defense blind on a large section of the front On the night of May 29-30, Ukrainian fighters struck two Russian Tunets boats in Crimea. This is not the first time these boats have been destroyed Later, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine said that its scouts had hit four Tunets boats Цей веб-сайт зберігає файли cookie на вашому комп'ютері an accident with large-scale environmental consequences already occurred at the plant the Russians brought explosives to the territory of the Crimean Titan plant and mine it The explosion could lead to the release of thousands of tons of toxic substances into the air, from which the inhabitants of Ukraine, Turkey and Russia itself would suffer, said Alexander Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, reports Zerkalo Nedeli It is noted that the Crimean Titanium plant produces titanium dioxide The fact that the Russians were mining his territory was stated by partisans from the Atesh movement "A probable explosion will entail the release of thousands of tons of toxic substances into the atmosphere and will lead to mortal danger to people and the environment Residents of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and at least seven other regions of Ukraine as well as Turkey and the aggressor country itself constantly monitor the situation and are ready to respond promptly to all threats an accident had already occurred at the Titan plant due to which a toxic substance was released Then the occupying authorities of the Crimea called the cause of the emissions the evaporation of the contents of the acid accumulator due to the heat and lack of water Ukrainian intelligence said that the accident occurred due to a live projectile falling into the sump during military exercises Before the liquidation of the consequences of the accident The adjacent Kherson region also suffered from emissions 37 border guards who were on duty at the Kalanchak checkpoint were poisoned Recall that on May 22, the last high-voltage power line was damaged at the Zaporizhzhya NPP due to Russian shelling, which fed the temporary occupied plant's own needs. Power engineers managed to resume power around 13:00. However, this is already the seventh blackout at the ZNPP since the beginning of the occupation As EcoPolitic reported earlier, expert of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center Evgeny Khlobistov said at the COP27 Climate Summit that the issue of de-occupation of Crimea is closely related to the solution of environmental problems overcoming the damage caused to natural resources and the environment The developed initiative does not take into account the restoration of water supply to Crimea from the Dnipro Local residents periodically feel the smell of "dust" The quail field was a buffer that protected local nature from negative anthropogenic influence It is also planned to develop small farms in Crimea The use of materials posted on the EcoPolicy media platform is permitted only if the link to the EcoPolicy is provided and for online publications - the placement of a direct hyperlink to the page where the original material is posted The editors may not share the point of view stated in the author's material The advertiser is responsible for the accuracy of information published in promotional materials.