The substances detonated: Smelyansky gives details of the explosion at Ukrposhta
31 October 09:05
On October 30, an explosion occurred in the distribution center of Ukrposhta in the Solomyansky district of Kyiv. Five people were injured in the incident. The incident occurred during the control procedures for the shipment of prohibited items.
For details and possible causes of the emergency , [Kommersant] asked Igor Smelyansky, CEO of Ukrposhta, about the details and possible causes of the incident.
He confirmed that the explosion at the branch occurred during a standard control procedure and was caused by prohibited items. According to Smelyansky, it was not a terrorist act, but a failure to comply with the rules on the part of the sender.
“Prohibited items exploded just as we were going through the control procedure… These are not terrorists. It’s just a violation of the shipping rules,” he emphasized.
Smelyansky explained that the company has multi-level security procedures in place to detect dangerous or prohibited items. The control was triggered at the time of sorting, so the shipment did not go further into the network.
At the same time, according to the head of Ukrposhta, another parcel from the same sender was found with the same violations of the shipping rules.
The details of the incident, the type of substance and the circumstances of the shipment are not yet disclosed: investigative actions are ongoing, and the company is not allowed to comment on them until the investigation is completed.
We even know how many parcels this person sent, but I simply have no right to comment until the investigation is over,” Smelyansky said.
The head of Ukrposhta reminded that the list of prohibitions covers a wide range of items and substances that can pose risks during transportation. As an example, he cited pool chemicals that can explode when heated, as well as live bees, which are prohibited due to temperature and humane restrictions.
“There are certain things that are prohibited for shipment… even bees, you can’t send them,” he said.
The company does not publicly disclose the full list and logic of control measures to prevent them from being bypassed by criminals. At the same time, Smelyansky urged customers not to “test” the security system and to strictly follow the rules, especially given the martial law. According to him, sometimes citizens try to send items from the frontline areas, which creates additional risks for postal employees and recipients.
Summing up, the Ukrposhta CEO confirmed that the incident involved the shipment of prohibited, in fact explosive, substances, but thanks to the control procedure, the shipment was detected and localized at the sorting stage.
“The security was just right… There is no need to violate the rules of shipment – then everything will be fine,” Smelyansky summarized.
What happened at the Kyiv branch of Ukrposhta on October 30
The National Police was the first to report the incident. They informed that the explosion occurred at the Ukrposhta sorting center. A little later, media outlets clarified that the incident occurred in the Solomyansky district of Kyiv.
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The system for controlling the shipment of prohibited items was triggered. Five people were injured in the incident: two employees of Kyiv Customs and three employees of Ukrposhta. They were treated by medics.
Later, the State Customs Service clarified the information about the incident. It turned out that an unknown object in the parcel exploded at the time when it was being checked during customs control of international mail that was being processed for export from Ukraine.
Thanks to the Customs Service’s information system, the sender was quickly identified and another mail item with a suspicious package was detected.
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