“We confirm that the occupiers, who seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other facilities in the exclusion zone, left in two columns towards the Belarusian border”specified the Ukrainian agency Energoatom, quoted by CNN.
As proof of the resumption of control of the plant, Energoatom published the photo of an official document confirming the transfer of responsibilities, dated March 31 and signed by a Russian general.
The agency also reported that a “column of Russian soldiers, who had surrounded the town of Slavoutich, where the employees of the plant are housed, was also on its way to Belarus”adds the American channel.
Chernobyl, scene in 1986 of the worst nuclear disaster in history, has been since the start of the war in Ukraine “a strategic and sensitive place for both sides”observe The country. “In fact it was one of the first objectives [de conquête] Kremlin troops, immediately after the invasion of the former Soviet republic” on February 24, underlines the Madrid daily.
Russian troops “irradiated”
Russia says Chernobyl withdrawal happened “as part of its reduction commitment” of its military presence in Ukraine, “but according to the Ukrainian media, it is actually because the troops [russes] were ‘irradiated’”reports The Daily Beast.
The site recalls that the international community was concerned about the takeover of the plant by Russian troops, who “installed heavy military equipment, raising radioactive dust without any protective equipment”.
Kremlin soldiers are said to have even dug trenches in the forest surrounding the plant, considered to be the most contaminated area of the site. “Unsurprisingly, the occupants received significant doses of radiation, and panicked at the first signs of illness, which arrived very quickly”observes the Ukrainian atomic agency.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, many Russian soldiers contaminated in Chernobyl are currently hospitalized in Belarus – information that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was unable to confirm.
Site maintenance disrupted
If the experts agreed that the risk of another nuclear disaster at Chernobyl was “almost zero”according to Vicethe working conditions of the plant’s employees nevertheless raised concerns.
“Ukrainian personnel at the power plant have not had a single day off since March 20 and have hardly been able to sleep”disrupting the maintenance of the site and in particular raising fears of “power outages”notice the Washington Post.
“Although the plant is no longer operational, it needs electricity to operate the cooling systems of the spent fuel storage facilities”Explain Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty (RFE-RL). “Tons of waste must be permanently cooled to prevent radioactive leaks”.
The BBC asked researcher Claire Corkhill, from the University of Sheffield, whose main concern is “that there has been no regular communication between the Chernobyl site and the IAEA, which holds [un journal] on the location of potentially hazardous materials. We’re going to have to get into the plant and make sure these materials haven’t disappeared.”.
The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, was in Ukraine in recent days to discuss the security of the country’s nuclear power plants – the Russians still control the Zaporizhia power plant there, the largest in Europe. He went to Russia on Thursday evening, where he is due to meet with several senior officials on Friday.