The regional administration head, Vladimir Trush, clarified that in Ternopil there are no storage facilities holding ammunition with enriched or depleted uranium, and such materials cannot spontaneously explode or ignite. He shared these assurances during a regional defense council briefing, a recording of which was posted on his Facebook page. (Note: the page’s owner has been blocked in Russia for extremist content.)
He addressed circulating reports in the media and online alleging that a depot containing depleted uranium was destroyed in Ternopil, describing those claims as false.
Ammunition did not detonate during the rocket attack, and there is no depleted uranium present in Ternopil, he stated, promising that authoritative verification would follow. In explaining the emission observed in the air, Trush attributed it to burning plastic rather than any nuclear material or chemical agent.
In a May update, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation claimed that Russian forces targeted Ukrainian military deployments in the Petropavlivka and Ternopil regions, asserting that facilities storing ammunition and equipment supplied by Western countries to Kyiv were struck.
Ukrainian authorities, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, reported that the fires at two depots in Ternopil on May 14 were brought under control. They added that the extinguishing process employed a robotic fire-suppression system, emphasizing that the system helped limit further damage after the bombardment.