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What the news looked like on 19 August 2019
Summary
A look back at the reports from Odesa, Kyiv and northern Russia that framed the days leading up to 19 August 2019.
What was the region reading about on 19 August 2019? The reports available from the preceding days point to three separate stories: a fatal fire, a measles outbreak and a mysterious explosion in northern Russia.
Fire in Odesa
On 17 August 2019, a fire at the Tokyo-Star hotel in Odesa killed nine people. It was the most immediate human loss in the period.
Measles in Kyiv
On 13 August 2019, it was reported that Kyiv had recorded the largest measles outbreak of all the years of Ukraine's independence.
Questions over Nyonoksa
Also on 13 August 2019, Interfax reported that the governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast dismissed as "complete nonsense" advice from authorities in Severodvinsk that residents of Nyonoksa evacuate on 14 August. The advice followed an accidental explosion on the Thursday before, which was speculated to involve a nuclear-powered missile. Russia's nuclear agency, Rosatom, said the failed test involved a "nuclear isotope power source" for a liquid-propelled rocket engine.
Taken together, these items show how varied the news was by 19 August 2019, from a deadly fire and a public health emergency to conflicting official accounts of an incident in Russia's north.
