Ukraine Chemical Plant Leaks Ammonia

The leak contaminated an area with a radius of some 1.5 miles.

A Ukrainian police officer offer tulips to female travelers at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kyiv, March 20, 2022.
A Ukrainian police officer offer tulips to female travelers at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kyiv, March 20, 2022.
AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — An ammonia leak at a chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy has contaminated an area with a radius of more than 2.5 kilometers (about 1.5 miles), officials said early Monday.

Sumy regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyy didn’t say what caused the leak.

The Sumykhimprom plant is on the eastern outskirts of the city, which has a population of about 263,000 and has been regularly shelled by Russian troops in recent weeks.

“For the center of Sumy, there is no threat now, since the wind does not blow on the city,” said Zhyvytskyy.

He said the nearby village of Novoselytsya, about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) southeast of Sumy, is under threat.

Emergency crews were working to contain the leak.

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