According to a presidential adviser, Ukraine lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, where Ukrainian forces fought a bloody battle against Russian forces.
According to adviser Myhailo Podolyak, Ukrainian authorities are unaware of the current state of the facilities at Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. “In light of the Russians’ completely irrational attack in this direction, it is impossible to assert that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe,” he said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, announced several hours earlier Thursday that Russian forces were attempting to seize the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Chernobyl reactor exploded in 1986
In April 1986, a nuclear reactor 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. A protective shelter was built around the exploded reactor several years ago to prevent radiation leaks.
According to a Ukrainian official, Russian shelling struck a radioactive waste repository, resulting in an increase in radiation levels. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss a private matter.
Between the Belarus-Ukraine border and the Ukrainian capital is the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a 2,600-square-kilometer (1,000-square-mile) forest zone that surrounds the shuttered plant.
Anton Herashenko, a Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser, warned that any attack on the waste repository could spread radioactive dust across “the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, and the EU.”
Russian officials, who have disclosed little information about their operations in Ukraine and have remained silent about their objectives, made no public comment on the battle. “I can’t imagine how it would be in Russia’s interest to allow any Chernobyl facilities to be damaged,” said Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington.
Mr. Lyman stated in an interview that he is most concerned about the spent fuel stored at the site, which has been idle since 2000. If the power to cooling pumps is cut off or fuel storage tanks are damaged, he said, the consequences could be catastrophic. The reactors are expected to be decommissioned by 2064. Ukraine chose to build a centralized storage facility for spent fuel from the country’s remaining nuclear power plants in the deserted zone.