Ukraine invasion: Russia captures Chernobyl nuclear site after fierce battle
- ‘Impossible to say’ that the power plant is safe, a Ukraine presidential adviser says, calling it ‘one of the most serious threats to Europe today’
- Chernobyl is the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, during which a reactor accident in 1986 spewed radioactive waste across the continent
Russian forces captured the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine announced on Thursday, after a “fierce” battle on the first day of the Kremlin’s invasion of its ex-Soviet neighbour.
“After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the chief of the presidential administration.
“This is one of the most serious threats to Europe today.”
Podolyak said Ukrainian authorities did not know the current condition of the facilities at Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
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Russia begins attack on Ukraine as US and Nato vow response
The Chernobyl disaster in then-Soviet Ukraine sent clouds of nuclear material across much of Europe in 1986 after a botched safety test in the fourth reactor of the atomic plant.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had announced several hours earlier on Thursday that Russian forces were trying to seize the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
“Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated,” Zelensky tweeted shortly before the power plant was captured.
“This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.”
Some Russian military massed in the Chernobyl exclusion zone before crossing into Ukraine early on Thursday, a Russian security source said. Russia wants to control the Chernobyl nuclear reactor to signal Nato not to interfere militarily, the same source said.
Safety at the accident reactor must be guaranteed at all costs, International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi demanded in Vienna on Thursday evening. According to Ukrainian authorities, nothing has been destroyed on site so far, he reported.
“The IAEA is following the situation in Ukraine with grave concern and is appealing for maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put the country’s nuclear facilities at risk,” Rossi said.
He pointed out that armed attacks and threats against such facilities violate the UN Charter, international law and the IAEA’s rules.
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters and dpa
