Last night's headlines crowed in bright red flashing text that Russia and Ukraine had (once again) agreed a cease-fire and terms over the borders between the two nations. Perhaps not surprisingly, mere hours later, Ukraine is claiming that Russia has broken the truce... with the use of a tactical nuclear weapon at Luhansk airport. This comes on the heels of claims by the pro-Russia separatists that Kiev forces destroyed a massive military plant in Donetsk. Russia's defense ministry flatly denies the 'nuclear strikes' adding that "no reasonable person will take them seriously." This truce-breaking action has once again raised calls among Ukrainians for the nation to get its nuclear status back; something Russia is clearly strongly against.

Earlier in the day, a massive military facility in pro-Russian separatist-held Donetsk was destroyed. As RT reports, a neighborhood official told Ukrainian 112 television that a shell hit the plant.

“There was a direct hit at the No 47 industrial explosives shop, where some explosives were present. It detonated and caused another explosion. Luckily it didn’t hit the main storage facility where we have some 2.5 tons of explosives,” said Ivan Prikhod’ko, deputy chair of the local community council.



He added that while the incident caused considerable damage, nobody was hurt. ... There is no verified report about what kind of weapon hit the plant. But there are rumors of it being targeted by a Tochka-U tactical missile launched by Kiev's troops. “According to our information, three Tochka-U missiles were fired and there you have it,” a militia member who identified himself as codename ‘Scorpio’ told RT.

Then, as ITAR-TASS reports,

Ukrainian media earlier in the day quoted Geletei as telling one of the journalists that the Russian army had delivered two tactical nuclear strikes on the Lugansk airport from a self-propelled Tyulpan 2S4 mortar system, thus causing the Ukrainian troops to leave the area. “The strikes were so powerful that they demolished buildings completely from top to bottom,” media reports quoted him as saying.

Adn as Inforesist notes, this was confirmed by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Valery Geletey during the return of the Ukrainian delegation from Poland.

It is reported on your page in the Facebook Roman Bocskai. In particular, the forces of the Russian Federation made two impact of self-propelled mortar 2S4 "Tulip" in Lugansk airport. It is for this reason that our military had left him. Blows were so powerful that "completely destroyed the building from the fifth floor to the basement" - described the minister.

The devastation at Luhansk Airport...

h/t @L0ggol

Which, as ITAR-TASS reports, the Russian Defense Ministry flatly denied...

Ukrainian media reports said that Defence Minister Geletei had made this statement upon return from talks in Poland. “The leadership of Ukraine should consider sending Geletei through a basic military training course where rookies learn the main effects of a nuclear explosion and its consequences ,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in what meant to be a jock. “Speaking seriously, Geletei’s regular attempts to justify the failures of the punitive operation in the south-east of Ukraine by alleged actions of Russian army units look like paranoia. But no reasonable person will take them seriously,” the ministry said.

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What is somewhat comical is that these incidents comes just hours after Friday’s signing of an extended ceasefire deal between Kiev and rebel forces, which hopes to put an end to hostilities in eastern Ukraine. The deal includes pulling back all heavy weapons from cities and frontlines.



The blast happened just as a Russian humanitarian aid convoy was unloading elsewhere in the city. Some 200 trucks carrying 2,000 tons of aid crossed the border earlier on Saturday.

NATO chimed in...