Ukraine warns of radiation spike after Chernobyl seized by Russia
- The UN nuclear watchdog says levels do not pose a threat, noting that the readings may be a result of military activity stirring up contaminated soil
- Ukrainian authorities say they have lost control of the fuel rods from the power plant containing a ‘significant’ amount of plutonium
Ukrainian authorities warned on Friday that radiation levels had increased in the Chernobyl exclusion zone since it was seized by invading Russian troops, although the UN’s nuclear watchdog said it currently “posed no danger”.
Ukrainian authorities also said that they had informed the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that they had lost control of highly radioactive fuel rods from the power plant.
“In the terrible hands of the aggressor, this significant amount of plutonium-239 can become a nuclear bomb that will turn thousands of hectares into a dead, lifeless desert,” said Ukraine’s environmental protection ministry.
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“The humanitarian and environmental consequences of such a catastrophe have no borders,” the ministry added, stressing that “they will have terrible consequences for people”.
However the IAEA said the radiation levels remained low and did not pose a threat.