Technological catastrophe looms as Russians mine titanium plant in occupied Crimea – Ukrainian intel, partisans

Russian engineering units are reportedly mining workshops of the Krymskyi Titan enterprise in Armyansk, in northern occupied Crimea, which could trigger a technogenic catastrophe, Ukraine's intelligence has said. An agent of the Atesh partisan movement confirmed the information. The agency stated that due to Russia's destruction of the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric power plant and ensuing drop in water supplied to occupied Crimea through the North-Crimean Canal, production processes at the Krymskyi Titan factory in Armyansk have been critically disrupted and there are rumors that it will be shut down.

"Engineering units of the occupying army of Moscow have been mining workshops of the enterprise that continue to work to this day, and are also laying explosives on the factory and the adjacent territory," the intelligence said. It stressed that an attack on the Krymskyi Titan enterprise, which the Russian invaders are preparing for, would signify an artificial technogenic catastrophe, disastrous in its consequences. Approximately 200 tons of technological ammonia are used on the cooling equipment of Krymskyi Titan, the largest manufacturer of titanium dioxide pigment in Eastern Europe. The intelligence directorate's statement continues, "In the event of an explosion at the factory, an ammonia cloud, depending on the wind direction, will cover the adjacent areas within half an hour. Occupied Armyansk, Krasnoperekopsky raion, and the southern regions of Kherson Oblast are primarily at risk." The information about Russians mining the plant was first reported by Atesh, a partisan movement of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars that maintains its agent network inside Russian-occupied territories, on 31 May. On 12 June, Atesh confirmed that the plant was being mined, referring to its agent. Atesh also said that ammonia was being brought to the plant, and is now standing in tanks on the railroad tracks. Russians are removing equipment from the plant and transporting it to Crimea while the occupation authorities of Armyansk are compiling lists of state employees and their families for possible evacuation. "How scared they are of the Ukrainian offensive! They are ready to commit another act of ecocide to prevent it. But they won't succeed," Atesh noted.

1. "Russian Engineers Reportedly Mining Workshops in Armyansk"
2. "Possible Technogenic Catastrophe Looms Over Occupied Armyansk"
3. "Krymskyi Titan Factory A Disaster Waiting to Happen?"

Lede Options

1. "Russian engineering units have reportedly begun mining workshops of the "Krymskyi Titan" enterprise in Armyansk, potentially leading to a technogenic catastrophe."
2. "A possible technogenic catastrophe may occur in Armyansk, as Russian engineering units mine the Krymskyi Titan enterprise."
3. "A ticking time bomb situation is unfolding in Armyansk as Russian engineering units mine the Krymskyi Titan enterprise."