Comment of Oleksandr Ruvin, Director of KFI, for the news agency “Ukrainian National News”.
Text of the material:
More than two weeks have passed since the explosion of the Molot mine thrower in the Rivne landfill, then three military servicemen were killed during the training firing, and nine others were injured.
A few days after the explosion, the Military Prosecutor’s Office together with Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise conducted an investigative experiment and now experts of KFI are conducting an examination of the causes of Molot detonation.
UNN talked to Oleksandr Ruvin, the director of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, who helped to shed light on the tragedy and understand the preconditions for the mine thrower explosion.
According to the Head of KFI, a complex commission examination continues, which includes explosive, trasological, physical-chemical and military research. The basis of these studies is the usefulness of mine throwers, mines and the actions of servicemen.
Further we cite the straight speech
Experts of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise are currently conducting a complex forensic examination. It is entrusted to our institution, since the experts of KFI have extensive experience in conducting relevant types of research. This is primarily military expertise related to the tragic events since the beginning of ATO, explosions of ammunition in military warehouses in the cities of Balaklia, Kalynivka, etc.
Investigation of the Molot mine thrower explosion at the Rivne landfill requires joint work of specialists in explosive, trasological, physicochemical and military research and only Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise has the necessary scientific personnel and technical facilities of among the all other expert institutions.
Considering the resonance of the case, a significant number of dead and injured, in the process of research, the findings of the experts of KFI support the research results of the involved institutions.
The main points of the study are: the mine thrower, the metal from which it is made and all the units and aggregates that correspond to its safe operation; serviceability and compliance with the norms and technical specifications of the most mines; the actions of servicemen are analyzed as well: safety techniques, correctness of the actions of the leadership.
Talking about the final conclusions will be possible only after the completion of the examination. Actually, we must finish the research in all areas and put them together in a single conclusion.
Inconsistencies between the working design documentation and the actual design of the mine thrower
At present, certain discrepancies are established between the working design documentation and the actual design of the mine thrower. According to preliminary data, they differ among themselves, in particular, the design of a double-load fuse. There are many questions to other knots of this mine thrower. As it has been already noted, the research is absolutely independent. For example, examination of the composition of the metal from which the mine thrower was made, within the framework of our expertise, three more are not interconnected, profile institutions that deal exclusively with the study of metals.
Mine thrower’s tests were conducted by solders-conscripts instead of professional testers in violation of technical requirements
Tests of the new mine thrower, which, moreover, was not adopted for service, should be carried out by highly professional specialists who can take into account all the risks and dangers. It should have been tested by experts who thoroughly know security techniques; they know what measures should be taken. There are many questions on compliance with the safety requirements and the actions of military personnel. It is not clear why the training was conducted in the dark time – in the early morning. There is a high probability that in the daytime such serious consequences would have been avoided in the day time.
During our investigations, in the course of this catastrophe, in the simulation of similar explosions, a full trench was fully grown; it was surrounded with shields and placed inside the mine thrower. In these conditions, when the mine disperses, 90 percent of the debris from it remains inside. At the landfill at the time of the tragedy, such measures were not observed. Shots were made in open space, and the size of the trench, in which the mine thrower was, was about 30 centimeters. The minomedes were at a much closer distance. The commander of the battery, who died, should not have been there at all. People who tested the mine thrower were not professional testers. If they were, there would not be 12 victims.
Fighter and charge to the mine thrower are terminated
There are questions to the terms of service and conditions of storage of ammunition. It has been conducting the inspection of compliance with the decisions of the Ministry of Defense, the timing of the use of charges, the tightness of the container. Again, we do not know in what conditions the charges were stored, because they were manufactured in 1991. So, it is written on the mine that it is manufactured in 1991, we add 25 years of its expiration date and we get the final term of using this mine – 2016. It exploded in 2018, that is, 2 more years it was overdue. To use it, it was first necessary to check and determine the need for its destruction or the conclusion that it can be used in the future. But when checking the mine thrower they had to take the newest mines, which exactly correspond to the standards. This was not done. We are still conducting research.
As a result, the director of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute for Forensic Expertise Oleksandr Ruvin noted that the experts of the institution will make every effort to investigate the tragic circumstances as soon as possible.
