NSDC Secretary Turchynov blames Ukrainian General Staff chief for Kalynivka blasts
KYIV. Sept 28 (Interfax) - The entire military command of Ukraine, starting with Viktor Muzhenko, the Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, is responsible for the fire at ammunition depots in Kalynivka in the Vynnytsia region, National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said.
"The country has suffered its severest blow since the beginning of war: this is a blow on our defense, our defense capacity [...] This is the responsibility of the entire vertical of those in charge of national defense, starting with the chief of the General Staff," Turchynov told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday.
"We have demonstrated our inability to protect strategic arsenals. So there is a question about the quality of our national defense. We will never stop counting casualties and losses as long as top-ranking officers who fail to fulfill their duties properly are not held accountable," he said.
A fire broke out and ammunition started exploding at military posts in the Kalynivka district of the Vynnytsia region on the evening of September 26.
People in Kalynivka and other populated localities within a ten-kilometer zone were notified and evacuated. In all, about 30,000 tenants have left the area.
Two women were admitted to a hospital with injuries.
The area is closed for motor vehicles, trains, and aircraft. Power grids and gas mains have been disconnected.