Today, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine opened a criminal case against officials of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine over negligent attitude toward the performance of official duties. \n \nThis was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the man-made disaster that has now occurred in Zaporizhzhia Oblast is the result of criminal negligence by military leaders and their systematic ignoring of warnings about violations of the rules for storing weapons and ammunition that came from prosecutor's offices. \n \nBack at the beginning of this year, in fulfillment of the President's order "On checking the state of preservation of weapons, ammunition and explosive substances in military formations and law enforcement agencies," military prosecutor's offices of Ukraine conducted thorough inspections at all military facilities in the country. They revealed numerous glaring facts of violations of the rules for storing weapons and ammunition. \n \nAll these facts were stated at a collegium of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine dedicated specifically to the alarming situation that has developed at Ukraine's military depots. \n \nIt was noted how dangerous such a situation is and how real the threat of emergencies is. \n\nThe Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Zatynaiko, was also heard at this collegium. In its decision, the collegium demanded the adoption of urgent measures to eliminate violations of legislation during the storage of weapons, ammunition and explosive substances. \n\nThe proposal to take immediate measures to restore order at military depots was also set out in a submission that Prosecutor General of Ukraine H. Vasyliev sent to Minister of Defense of Ukraine Ye. Marchuk. \n\nHowever, the Minister of Defense's response was formal; it contained not a single word about measures taken specifically in this area, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office notes. \n\nThe Prosecutor General of Ukraine proposed returning again to the dangerous problem and giving it an assessment, but no proper reaction from the military leadership followed. \n\nIt is worth noting that already this year prosecutors sent submissions and orders on eliminating shortcomings in the organization of storage of weapons and ammunition to specific military units as well. Including specifically the very military unit where the man-made disaster occurred today! \n\nBack in January, the military prosecutor pointed out to the commander of the Novobohdanivka unit that more than 60 percent of ammunition is stored in an open area in unsuitable containers, more than 50 storage facilities and open sites have no protective earthen ramparts, and 36 facilities are not equipped with fire alarms! Violations in the technology of disassembling rocket projectiles were also pointed out. And also that such a situation creates real preconditions for the explosion of rocket projectiles and the occurrence of other emergency events with possible human casualties. \n\nAll violations discovered at the Novobohdanivka military unit were also reported to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, today's man-made disaster is eloquent evidence that all the prosecutor's warnings were simply ignored. \n\nAnd therefore there are grounds for opening a criminal case against high-ranking officials of Ukraine's military department under Article 426 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — inaction of military authority. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, those responsible must be punished. \n