The ecological crisis in Lviv

A huge fire broke out on 29 May 2016 at a municipal waste disposal site near Velyki Hrybovychi (around 10 km from the centre of Lviv). This is Ukraine’s largest landfill (26 ha) containing dangerous chemical and industrial waste. During the intervention by the fire brigade four people died buried under the trash. On 9 June 2016, nationalists in Lviv tried to capitalise on the tragedy—insisting that Mayor Andriy Sadovyi resign, they stormed city hall. This led to clashes with National Guard and a session of the city council being disrupted. The fire and the deaths of the firefighters have provoked criticism of Sadovyi from the camp of President Petro Poroshenko, who has over the past few months been in dispute with him and his Self-Reliance party.