Russian officials, who have revealed little of their operations in Ukraine and not revealed their goals, did not publicly comment on the battle.Įdwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, said, “I can’t imagine how it would be in Russia’s interest to allow any facilities at Chernobyl to be damaged.” Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashenko warned that any attack on the waste repository could send radioactive dust over “the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and countries of the EU.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian officers fought to defend it, “so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated.” He called it a “declaration of war against the whole of Europe.”Īdviser Podolyak said that after an “absolutely senseless attack … it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe.” He warned that Russian authorities could blame Ukraine for damage to the site or stage provocations from there. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a 2,600-square-kilometer (1,000-square-mile) zone of forest surrounding the shuttered plant, lies between the Belarus-Ukraine border and the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian authorities decided to use the deserted exclusion zone around the Chernobyl power plant to build a repository where Ukraine could store its nuclear waste for the next 100 years. A shelter covers the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 27, 2021. The officials were not authorized to be publicly named discussing the sensitive matter. believes Russian forces at Chernobyl were aiming to push to Kyiv, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) away, to try to link with other Russian forces throughout Ukraine. The increase could not be immediately corroborated.Ī senior American intelligence official said the U.S. He said the condition of the plant’s facilities, a confinement shelter and a repository for nuclear waste is unknown.Īn official familiar with current assessments said Russian shelling hit a radioactive waste repository at Chernobyl, and an increase in radiation levels was reported. Russian forces took control over the site after a fierce battle with Ukrainian national guards protecting the decommissioned plant, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) - It was among the most worrying developments on an already shocking day, as Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday: warfare at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, where radioactivity is still leaking from history’s worst nuclear disaster 36 years ago.
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