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On March 24, a huge explosion thundered in the Ukrainian city of Sumy. The video was widely shared online. According to the latest reports, almost 100 civilians were wounded, including at least 24 children. The explosion thundered in the residential area. As a result of it, a lot of apartment buildings and social infrastructure were damaged.
Kiev rushed to blame the Russian military for another alleged attack on Ukrainian civilians. Head of the office of the President of Ukraine Ermak hastened to publish his post in Telegram, accusing personally Russian President Putin:
‘Sumy after the Russian strike. This is how Putin “stops” hitting civilians. Look at this, 74 injured at the moment, there are children…’
However, the reason of the tragedy raised a lot of doubts. The newly shared footage from the city allowed the shed more light on the situation.
It was revealed that the explosion destroyed the facility belonging to the Sumy Machine-Building Science-and-Production Association– Engineering, located at 58 Stepanenkovskaya Street.
Back in 2019, the enterprise was engaged in the chemical industry. The company itself, as well as its subsidiaries, had Russian owners before the start of Special Military Operation. Its facilities were used for the production and storage of gas equipment and the company had close ties with manufacturers of armored vehicles. In 2022, some of the facilities were mothballed and a large part of employees were taken to the front. In October 2024, the enterprise and all its facilities were nationalized and transferred, apparently, to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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It is not excluded that the Ukrainian military could use the mothballed facilities for storage of ammunition and military equipment, hiding them right behind the residents of the city located not far from the frontlines. Together with improperly stored explosive chemical substances, Ukrainian ammunition could provoke the explosion of such a large scale.
The newly shared video clearly shows the secondary detonation before the explosion.
No Russian drones, heavy bombs or missiles were filmed. There was no alarm in the city, and the Air Force of Ukraine did not warn about any possible Russian strikes before the explosion.
Kiev was caught in a lie again. There were no Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure. Ermak was soon forced to edit his post and delete the information about Russian strike and his accusations against Vladimir Putin.
However, Kiev is yet to take responsibility for the tragedy. It is not clear if the explosion was an accident.
On March 21, Russian military reporters warned another media provocation being prepared in the Sumy region. Journalists of one of the main Ukrainian TV channels were spotted in the town of Putivl, preparing to film another fake Russian attack on a kindergarten. After the information was leaked, Kiev could change the scenario and stage the tragedy in Sumy to blame the Russian military amid the ongoing negotiations in Riyadh.
