Crews battle huge fire at Ukraine oil depot

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Source: BBC

9 June 2015 Last updated at 10:45 BST

Emergency crews are battling a fire outside the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, following a huge blast at a fuel depot.

Officials say at least eight petrol storage tanks, with a total capacity of up to 900 cubic metres (32,000 cu ft), are ablaze. The fire started on Monday.

Video shows a huge tower of smoke and flames rising into the sky, as Tom Burridge reports.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33059398

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1. Ukraine crews battle blaze after 'huge' explosion outside Kiev

Emergency crews are battling a fire outside the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, following a huge blast at a fuel depot.

The blaze broke out on Monday evening, and one worker at the plant died.

The explosion on Tuesday morning left several firefighters reportedly injured or missing.

Three firefighters were unaccounted for and another six were taken to hospital, officials said, as the fire spread to at least 16 tanks, most of them storing petrol.

The fire at the depot, next to Hlevakha airbase and near the village of Vasylkiv, sent a huge pall of smoke over the surrounding area.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33060644

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2. Kiev Evacuates Hundreds From Site of Deadly Kiev Fuel Blasts

Kryachki, Ukraine: Ukraine urgently evacuated hundreds of residents today from the site of a series of fuel depot blasts near Kiev that set off a ferocious fire and left several people missing and at least one confirmed dead.

The defence ministry said it was also taking emergency measures to prevent the flames engulfing a nearby military airbase which has MiG-29 fighter jets and munitions on site.

Security Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov and Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak rushed to the scene to oversee the rescue operations.

"We are facing a serious threat because 50 metres (yards) from the edge of the fire, we have a military installation stocked with an arsenal," Turchynov said in televised comments.

http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/kiev-evacuates-hundreds-from-site-of-deadly-kiev-fuel-blasts-770135

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3. What a coincidence, eh Pooty-Poot?

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8. Too early to say.

Accidents do happen.

Some "accidents" have been found to result from explosives, of course, and were near recruitment or support stations for the military or the militias. Some were near aid collection centers for refugees. Some were near police stations or factories that manufacture or were thought to manufacture materiel or equipment for fighting in the East.

A number of diversionary groups have been detained in and around major cities and sometimes near installations before doing anything, and a few detained after those explosions produced "accidents." Some were Ukrainian Russian speakers from the Eastern provinces or who wanted the glory and cultural supremacy of the Eastern provinces extended to places where, well, a good Ivan like themselves just couldn't catch a break against the mud people (mostly they were either Communists or criminals or both). Some were just Russian speakers "on vacation" or who had spent a lot of time "on vacation" in a nearby large country, sometimes in special hotel rooms with board and even built-in bars.

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4. Four killed in massive explosion, fire at Ukrainian oil depot

KIEV, Ukraine, June 9 (UPI) -- A fire followed a huge explosion Tuesday morning at an oil depot outside Kiev, Ukraine, with 17 oil tanks burning and four people believed killed.

"As of 7 a.m. on June 9, a fire in one 900-cubic-meter (31.782 cubic feet) fuel tank has been put out; firefighters continue extinguishing 16 more tanks," the national Emergency Services Ministry reported. The fire broke out in oil storage tanks near the town of Vasylkiv and adjacent to the Hlevakha airbase on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. The army had been clearing a munitions storage facility several hundred feet away from the site of the fire.

A source at the ministry said four firefighters had died and the Interior Ministry reported one worker had died after sustaining burns. Other officials said three firefighters had died and six were missing.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2015/06/09/Four-killed-in-massive-explosion-fire-at-Ukrainian-oil-depot/5041433856738/?spt=sec&or=tn

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5. In Germany, Bush to call for more support for Ukraine

Jeb Bush will call on the United States to take tougher actions against Russia in a major foreign policy speech Tuesday in Germany.

The former Florida governor has argued that sanctions aren’t enough to limit Russia’s aggression, and that it is necessary to take further steps.

Bush’s speech is intended to draw a stark contrast with President Obama, who has argued against providing arms to Ukraine.

“Russia must respect the sovereignty of all of its neighbors,” Bush will say, according to prepared remarks provided by his political team. “And who can doubt that Russia will do what it pleases if its aggression goes unanswered? Our alliance, our solidarity and our actions are essential if we want to preserve the fundamental principles of our international order.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/244385-in-germany-bush-to-call-for-more-support-for-ukraine

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6. Criminal proceedings launched into placement of two oil depots close to military units in Kyiv regi

National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov has said that criminal proceedings have been launched into the placement of two oil depots near the village of Kriachky, Vasylkiv district, Kyiv region, in close proximity to a military unit.

"The NSDC secretary said that in addition to criminal inquiries into the fire and related deaths, criminal proceedings were launched into the illegal placement of two oil depots close to a military unit," the press service of the National Security Council on Tuesday.

"Everyone involved in the creation of this dangerous situation, those who gave permission for setting up the depots, those who signed documents, will be bought in court," he said.

http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/270984.html

Let the butt-covering begin.

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7. Rescuers evacuate two-kilometer zone around burning fuel depot near Kyiv Read more on UNIAN: http://

Ukrainian rescue teams on Tuesday began a temporary evacuation of residents within a two-kilometer zone around a burning fuel depot just outside Kyiv, Chairman of the State Emergency Service Mykolai Chechetkin said at the scene of the fire, the service's press service has reported.

http://www.unian.info/society/1087229-rescuers-evacuate-two-kilometer-zone-around-burning-fuel-depot-near-kyiv.html