Missiles intended to kill Ukrainians tested on Kazakhstan – media
Reporters have visited the Russian missile training ground Kapustin Yar, where missiles are fired at the border region of Kazakhstan.
Source: Novaya Gazeta Europe, a Russian socio-political newspaper
Quote: "The Kapustin Yar missile training ground is based in Astrakhan Oblast of Russia. However, the anti-aircraft and ballistic missiles that are tested here fly towards Kazakhstan and land in Bokey Orda, in the steppe, where a highly protected nature reserve is located.
After the tests, the missiles will be launched to kill Ukrainians, but first they are tested on Kazakhs. The missiles dump fuel into their steppe, the debris falls near their homes, killing their livestock, and the fires that break out are extinguished by the Kazakhs themselves. The environmental consequences are even worse: adults in Bokey Orda are dying of cancer, children are being born with disabilities."
Details: The newspaper explains that when Kazakhstan ceased to be part of the USSR, Russian missile tests on its territory did not stop, and now the republic leases its land for training grounds.
According to the National Encyclopaedia of Kazakhstan, published in 2005, over the 56 years of the Kapustin Yar training ground's existence, 24,000 missiles have detonated there, 177 types of military equipment have been tested, and 619 SS-20 missiles have been destroyed.
Radiation tests showed that even then, almost 20 years ago, the content of radioactive substances in the soil was "several times higher than the permissible limits".
A medical survey of the local population on the territory of the landfill found that the rate of mental illness (especially among children) was 2.3 times higher than the average level in the oblast and 2.1 times higher than the level in the whole country. Malignant tumours, pulmonary diseases, immune system and blood disorders are particularly prevalent. Another 19 years have passed, and all this time, Kapustin Yar has continued to operate.
Officially, 19,000 people are registered in the Bokey Orda district. The actual number is unknown.
Novaya Gazeta reports that the Kazakhs are not warned when the Russian military is about to test their missiles. But they are made aware of every explosion in Bokey Orda, hearing at least 2 per month.
According to the official documents of the local administration on payments to "disabled people affected by the consequences of training grounds activities", in 9 months of 2023, all "people suffering from [consequences of living next to] nuclear training grounds" received 48,800 euros from the local budget.
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