Photo from UNIAN

Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has ordered to conduct tests of the metal the barrel of the M-15 Molot mortar is made of.

The expertise will be carried out at the research laboratory of the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute," the ministry said on its website.

Read alsoMortar blast at training ground: Ukroboronprom says no alternative in Ukraine to Molot model

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This order is part of an official investigation into an incident at the Rivne training ground.

"Samples have been transferred to the laboratory where they are being examined," the report says.

Conclusions on the findings will help to establish the objective cause of a deadly mortar blast.

As UNIAN reported, a mortar blew up at about 06:00 Kyiv time on July 6 amid military drills at Ukraine's Rivne training ground, as a result of which three Ukrainian troops were killed and nine others received injuries of varying severity.

According to a preliminary version of the incident voiced by the Ministry of Defense, the incident was caused by the violation of safety rules.

Following the incident, President Petro Poroshenko banned the further use of Molot mortars in live fire exercise pending the results of the investigation.

UNIAN memo. The 120mm Molot M120-15 mortar was developed on the basis of the Soviet 2B11 mortar model. In Ukraine, it is manufactured by PJSC Mayak plant, which is part of state-run Ukroboronprom Concern.