Ammonia release at Sumykhimprom (Sumy) and nitric-acid explosions at Rubizhne, 2022
On 21 March 2022 an ammonia tank at the Sumykhimprom plant in Sumy released gas; in April 2022 explosions at a grain-elevator complex in Rubizhne sent nitrogen-oxide plumes into the air. Ukraine's Prosecutor General notified five Russian officers of suspicion over the Sumy release; Russia's Ministry of Defence gave a different account.
As stated on 28 August 2024; 67 tonnes of ammonia evaporated into the air, according to the same office.
Status As of August 2024: suspicion notified in absentia to five Russian officers over the Sumy release; no trial on record. Responsibility for the Rubizhne explosions is disputed.
What happened
At about 04:30 on 21 March 2022 an ammonia tank at the Sumykhimprom chemical plant in Sumy was damaged and gas was released. The head of Sumy Oblast, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, announced the leak and warned residents of Novoselytsia; he said the affected zone was 2.5 km and that the city of Sumy was not threatened because of the wind direction. On 28 August 2024 Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General said there had been “a leak with the evaporation of 67 tons of ammonia into the air” and “More than 10 million hryvnias were caused to the state”.
On 19 March 2022 Russia's Ministry of Defence had said Ukrainian “nationalists” had planted mines at the chemical plant. On 21 March the ministry's spokesman Igor Konashenkov said they had “staged a pre-planned provocation” and that “The Russian army has not planned or delivered any strikes against Ukrainian facilities” that make or store poisonous chemicals. On 28 August 2024 the Prosecutor General's Office said two generals and three colonels of Russia's Western Military District had been notified of suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war, and said the Russian military had “purposefully” fired rocket artillery at the plant's ammonia department; it also said “There was no military facility near the enterprise”. The article cited does not give the Criminal Code article number, and no trial is on record.
At Rubizhne, Luhansk Oblast, CEOBS recorded large explosions at the Golden Agro grain-elevator complex on about 5 and 9 April 2022 that produced “two high-altitude and reddish-brown plumes, characteristic of nitrogen oxides”, “most likely” from nitric acid stored in tanks on site. The complex, with 30,000 tonnes of grain storage capacity, was almost entirely destroyed, with a crater about 25 m wide. Fires were still visible in May–June 2022 and the site was smouldering on 14 November 2022. The owner of Golden Agro estimated his losses at USD 20 million in a Telegram post cited by CEOBS. CEOBS noted numerous nitrate-fertiliser explosions in the first 12 months of the invasion, and recorded no measurements of the harm at Rubizhne.
Responsibility for the Rubizhne explosions is disputed. CEOBS disputed a Russian-media account of Ukrainian shelling from Lysychansk, noting that the area was under Ukrainian control at the time. CEOBS wrote that the occupying authorities' long-term plan does not mention environmental recovery at the site.
- 2022Russian Ministry of Defence says the Sumykhimprom storage was mined (19 Mar); ammonia release at about 04:30 (21 Mar); explosions at Rubizhne on about 5 and 9 Apr; fires still visible in May–June; smouldering on 14 Nov
- 2024Ukraine's Prosecutor General notifies two generals and three colonels of suspicion (28 Aug)
What was said
“More than 10 million hryvnias were caused to the state.”
“there was a leak with the evaporation of 67 tons of ammonia into the air”
“There was no military facility near the enterprise”
“staged a pre-planned provocation”
“The Russian army has not planned or delivered any strikes against Ukrainian facilities”
“two high-altitude and reddish-brown plumes, characteristic of nitrogen oxides”
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
The Russian military purposefully fired rocket artillery at the plant's ammonia department; there was no military facility near the enterprise. Two generals and three colonels of the Western Military District were notified of suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war.
BabelUkrainian nationalists planted mines at the plant on 19 March and staged a provocation; the Russian army had not delivered strikes on Ukrainian facilities that make or store poisonous chemicals.
TASSHow it looked
Shown
Recorded
- Sumykhimprom: Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office stated 67 tonnes of ammonia evaporated into the air and damage to the state of more than UAH 10 million.
- Sumykhimprom: the regional head gave an affected zone of 2.5 km and said the city of Sumy was not threatened because of the wind direction.
- Rubizhne: CEOBS gave the Golden Agro complex as near-totally destroyed, with a crater about 25 m wide and 30,000 tonnes of grain storage capacity.
- Rubizhne: the owner of Golden Agro estimated losses at USD 20 million (archived Telegram post cited by CEOBS).
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- Ministry of Defence of Russia (21 March 2022): Ukrainian “nationalists” in Sumy “staged a pre-planned provocation”; the ministry had warned on 19 March that they planted mines at the chemical plant; the Russian army had not planned or delivered any strikes against Ukrainian facilities that make or store poisonous chemicals. · TASS
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2024–OngoingSuspicion notified to five Russian officers over the Sumykhimprom shellingOffice of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine · Criminal · Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine → Two generals and three colonels of Russia's Western Military District (names not given in the article cited)
On 28 August 2024 the office said the five had been notified of suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war; suspicion notified in absentia. The article cited does not give the Criminal Code article. No trial is on record. Babel
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Money
- None on record Golden Agro owner's estimated losses at Rubizhne (archived Telegram post cited by CEOBS) — USD 20 million as the owner estimated it; not converted.
Accounts
Record
- Not measured Not measured: Soil or water contamination around Sumykhimprom; no measurement is on record.
- Not measured Not measured: Air, soil or water contamination at the Golden Agro complex in Rubizhne; CEOBS recorded no measurements.
- Disputed Disputed: Responsibility for the Sumy release. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office says the Russian military fired at the plant; Russia's Ministry of Defence says Ukrainian nationalists staged a provocation. No independent forensic finding is on record.
- Disputed Disputed: Responsibility for the Rubizhne explosions.
- None on record None on record: Compensation paid for the Sumy release, or a trial of the five officers.
- None on record None on record: Environmental recovery planning at the Golden Agro site (CEOBS).
Did the harm stop?
None on record.
Who paid?
None on record.
Sources
Government and regulators
Press and investigations
Communities and civil society
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