Russian troops are trying to seize Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the northern part of the Kyiv Region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted on Thursday evening, branding it a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.
Stressing that Ukrainian defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated, Zelensky claimed the fighting in Chernobyl happened hours into Moscow’s special operation aimed, as Russia claims, to protect the Donbas’ breakaway eastern republics.
Chernobyl was the site of the 1986 disaster, which caused massive contamination of the surrounding area and parts of Europe.
Anton Gerashchenko, former MP and outgoing adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, wrote on Facebook that Russian forces have crossed into Ukraine from Belarus and entered the exclusion AES Zone set up around Chornobyl.
He said that Ukraine’s National Guardsmen, who guard the collectors of unsafe nuclear radioactive waste, are fighting hard and warned that if the artillery fire hits and ruins or damages the collectors, radioactive nuclear dust can be spread over Ukraine, Belarus, and the EU.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also warned in a tweet that a Russian attack on Ukraine may cause another ecological disaster in Chernobyl as in 1986 when the disaster sent radioactive contamination across Europe.
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone encompasses lands surrounding the power plant that have high levels of radiation, so the reports of fighting there are very concerning.
However, there’s no doubt that the Russian soldiers are well aware of the dangers surrounding Chernobyl and their aim most likely is to secure the area so they can move troops more directly to Kyiv.
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