Russia Warns Massive Toxic Cloud Moving Towards City After ‘False-Flag’ Attack

Damaged residential buildings in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on March 18, 2022. (Provided to The Epoch Times)

Russia’s ministry of defense on Tuesday claimed a toxic cloud is now moving toward the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk following an alleged “false-flag” attack by Ukrainian special forces.

“The Kyiv regime continues to organize false-flag attacks to accuse the Russian Armed Forces of allegedly using poisonous substances,” the Russian Defense Ministry stated, according to state-run media. The alleged poisonous cloud went as far as one kilometer, or about half a mile, into the air.

Russian officials said the toxic cloud was caused after Kyiv’s forces detonated an explosive device that contains ammonium nitrate. The detonation, the ministry alleged, occurred near the village of Mazanovka, located in the vicinity of Kramatorsk at around 1:35 p.m. local time.

The Epoch Times could not immediately verify Russia’s claims. Ukrainian officials have not issued public comments on the incident.

Kramatorsk is located in the Donetsk region that is under the control of Ukrainian forces. Other parts of Donetsk have been controlled by pro-Russian separatist forces since 2014.

Ukrainian officials told CNN Tuesday said that a missile was fired at the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk, destroying a five-story building, and leaving at least one dead and more injured. Bakhmut is considered an important area for pro-Kyiv forces, as its hospital treats injured Ukrainian soldiers.

A train car after a missile attack at a train station in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, on April 8, 2022. (Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images)

“The Russians do not stop the mass shelling along the entire front line from Vuhledar to Bakhmut,” said Pavlo Kyrylenko, the chief of the Donetsk region military administration, accusing Russia of carrying out the missile strike.

It comes as more than 250 Ukrainian fighters surrendered to Russian forces at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol and Kyiv said on Tuesday it had ordered its full garrison to evacuate, bringing an apparent end to the bloodiest battle in Europe for decades.

A Reuters reporter saw buses leave the steelworks overnight and five of them arrive in the Russian-held town of Novoazovsk, where Moscow said the wounded would be treated. In one, marked with the letter “Z” that symbolizes Russia’s assault, wounded men were stacked on stretchers three bunks high. One man was wheeled out, his head tightly wrapped in thick bandages.

“The ‘Mariupol’ garrison has fulfilled its combat mission,” the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a statement. “The supreme military command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel.”

Reuters contributed to this report.