Zelensky accuses Russia of putting the world on the brink of disaster by occupying Chernobyl
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today accused Russia of putting the world “on the brink of catastrophe” when it occupied the Chernobyl nuclear power plant at the start of the invasion of Ukraine, where the worst nuclear disaster in history occurred.
The head of the Ukrainian state, during a conference, stressed that “the world was once again on the brink of disaster, because the Chernobyl region and the former nuclear power plant of the Russian army served as a natural area for conducting military operations.” press release. With the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Rossi.
According to Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian army “did not worry about nuclear safety” and kept “a group of armored vehicles on the territory of the plant that were destroying the earth and raising an extraordinary amount of dust, especially radioactive particles.”
“No country in the world, since 1986, has created such widespread threats to nuclear security in Europe and the world as Russia has since February 24,” said the Ukrainian president.
A reactor exploded at Chernobyl in 1986, contaminating much of Europe, especially Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, which were part of the Soviet Union. Known as the exclusion zone, the area within a 30-kilometer radius around the plant is still heavily polluted and living in it is permanently prohibited.
Today, during a field visit, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that the Russian military’s occupation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine between February 24 and the end of March was “very, very dangerous.”
“The situation was completely abnormal and extremely dangerous,” Rafael Grossi told reporters during a visit to Chernobyl on the 36th anniversary of the worst nuclear disaster in history, which occurred in 1986.
The UN agency said last Friday that the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency accompanied him to the site visit by a team of experts “to deliver vital equipment”, including dosimeters and protective suits, and to implement “radiological and other controls”.
Rafael Grossi had already visited Ukraine at the end of March to lay the groundwork for the technical assistance agreement, having visited the Yuzhno-Ukrainsk Southern Power Plant before meeting top Russian officials in Kaliningrad, on the banks of the Baltic Sea.
Ukraine has 15 nuclear reactors at four operating power plants, as well as landfills, such as the Chernobyl plant, which was disabled after the 1986 disaster.
Russian troops withdrew from the Chernobyl plant at the end of March, but still occupied the Zaporizhzhya plant in southern Ukraine.
Therefore, today Zelensky again appealed to foreign leaders for an “effective response” to ensure Ukrainian control of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, including through the introduction of peacekeepers.
“that they [forças russas] And he warned against launching three missiles today again at Ukraine, flying directly over the reactors of our nuclear plants.”
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