Capture of Chernobyl

Last updated

Capture of Chernobyl
Part of the Kyiv offensive of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Battle of Chernobyl (2022).png
A map of Russian-occupied territory in northern Ukraine following the engagement
Date24 February 2022
Location
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (Chernobyl and Pripyat), Ukraine
51°16′N30°13′E / 51.267°N 30.217°E / 51.267; 30.217
Result Russian victory
Territorial
changes		 Russia captures the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant; withdraws in April 2022
Belligerents
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
Casualties and losses
Several injured and 1 dead due to acute radiation syndrome [1] 169 captured [2]
300 civilians captured

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was captured [3] on 24 February, the first day of the invasion, by the Russian Armed Forces, [4] who entered Ukrainian territory from neighbouring Belarus and seized the entire area of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant by the end of that day. [5] [6] [7] On 7 March, it was reported that around 300 people (100 workers and 200 security guards for the plant) were trapped and had been unable to leave the power plant since its capture. [8] On 31 March, it was reported that most of the Russian troops occupying the area had withdrawn, as the Russian military abandoned the Kyiv offensive to focus on operations in Eastern Ukraine.

Contents

Background

A security checkpoint in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, 2010 Checkpoint ditkatky chernobyl zone.JPG
A security checkpoint in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, 2010

The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 released large quantities of radioactive material from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant into the surrounding environment. [9] The area in a 30 kilometres (19 mi) radius surrounding the exploded reactor was evacuated and sealed off by Soviet authorities. [10] :  27   [11] This area was formalised as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone; its boundaries have changed over time. [12] Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this area became part of newly independent Ukraine [13] : p.4–5 : p.49f.3  and was managed by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. [14]

Chernobyl is 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of Kyiv and the regional road PO2 connecting Chernobyl and Kyiv is in relatively good condition, thus creating a direct strategic corridor to Kyiv, which Russian forces could exploit to capture the capital. [5] The exclusion zone is located right on the border with Belarus, a Russian ally which allowed a military buildup in their territory. [5] On 16 February 2022, satellite imagery showed Russian troops building pontoon bridges over rivers on the Belarusian side of the exclusion zone, the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve. [15]

Attack and capture

At 7 a.m. on 24 February 2022, a scheduled shift change for the workers in the power plant was cancelled, the workers being informed that Russia had launched a full-out invasion of Ukraine, and that the plant was to be put on high alert. That morning, there were around 300 people within the exclusion zone, including nuclear staff, medical staff, firefighters, 169 soldiers of the 1st Nuclear Power Plant Protection Battalion [16] and four tourists. [17]

A few hours later, Russian forces that had been stationed in Belarus broke into the exclusion zone through the village of Vilcha. [18] By 2 p.m., they had reached the power plant's main administration office. In the following hours, the National Guard commanders and the staff administration negotiated a surrender with the Russian forces, and the Ukrainian government publicly announced that Russian forces had launched an attack on the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. [19]

The Ukrainian garrison in Chernobyl were not armed with heavy weapons or equipment, and thus could not fight Russian armored vehicles. [16] The Ukrainian soldiers were encircled and two Tigr armored vehicles of the Russian Special Operations Forces entered the territory of the Nuclear Power Plant and gave an ultimatum, forcing the National Guard soldiers to surrender immediately. [16]

By the end of the day, the Ukrainian government announced that Russian forces had captured Chernobyl and Pripyat. [4] Following the Russian capture of the exclusion zone, the American government announced "credible reports that Russian soldiers are currently holding the staff of the Chernobyl facilities hostage". [20]

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said "there had been no casualties nor destruction at the industrial site". [21] Russia later reported that it was "working with Ukrainians to secure" the site. [22]

Russian occupation

Staff that had been working when the power plant was captured were unable to leave during the Russian occupation, and continued to maintain the plant's operation. [23] The staff refused several requests by the Russian forces to be interviewed on Zvezda, a TV channel owned by the Russian Ministry of Defence. [17] Russian forces set up a number of security checkpoints throughout the station and kept the staff under close surveillance. [24]

On 9 March 2022, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said that the power supply of the Chernobyl NPP was damaged, it had lost power, and the diesel generator backup systems only had enough fuel to support cooling operations for 48 hours, so there was a danger of radiation leaks. [25] The risk was uncertain, but Russian military operations had already caused nuclear risks when they caused a fire in the takeover of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. [26] [27] Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that the National Guard of Russia was running a "joint operation" with local workers and surrendered Ukrainian soldiers to maintain the containment operations of the Chernobyl NPP. [28]

The IAEA released a statement expressing concern about the situation, but considered that the disconnection did not pose an immediate critical risk to operations, considering that the large volumes of water allowed sufficient cooling without electricity. Nevertheless, the agency recognised that lack of electricity was likely to deteriorate radiation safety, specifically through the increased workload and stress on the 210 personnel working without shift changes at the site. The IAEA has also expressed concern about the interruption of communications and the capacity of personnel to make decisions without undue pressure. [29] On 10 March 2022, it was reported that all contact was lost. [30]

On 20 March, Russian forces allowed some of the power plant's staff to leave and return home, in a swap with volunteers of staff that had been outside of the plant when it was captured to replace them. [17] Six days later, Slavutych, the town constructed to house workers at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant following the disaster, was attacked by Russian forces. [17]

Potential radiation exposure

Packages of Russian field rations left at the Red Forest Red Forest after Russian invasion (02).jpg
Packages of Russian field rations left at the Red Forest

Reuters reported that the Russian forces used the Red Forest as a route for their convoys, kicking up clouds of radioactive dust. Local workers said the Russian soldiers moving in those convoys were not using protective suits and could have potentially endangered themselves. [31] On 31 March 2022, a Ukrainian council member of the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management claimed on his Facebook page that Russian troops were regularly removed from the exclusion zone surrounding Chernobyl and taken to the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Radiation Medicine and Human Ecology in Gomel, Belarus. This rumor led to further speculation in the press that the soldiers were suffering from acute radiation syndrome. [32] One Russian trooper was reported to have died due to radiation. [33] On 6 April, images and videos of trenches, foxholes and other defensive structures at the Red Forest surfaced on the internet and news outlets. [34] [35]

Local workers and scientists said Russian troops looted radioactive material from the laboratories. [36]

Russian withdrawal

On 29 March, Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Alexander Fomin announced a withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kyiv area, [37] and on 1 April the State Agency on Exclusion Zone Management announced that Russian troops had completely withdrawn from the Chernobyl NPP. [38]

Following the Russian withdrawal, staff at the power plant raised the Ukrainian flag back over the plant. [23] IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi announced that the IAEA would be sending a support mission to the plant "as soon as possible." [39] On 3 April, Ukrainian forces re-entered the exclusion zone. [17]

Following the return of Ukrainian control, significant damage to parts of the plant's offices was noted, including graffiti and smashed windows. The Washington Post further estimated that around 135 million US dollars worth of equipment had been destroyed, namely computers, vehicles, and radiation dosimeters. [40]

Reactions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the Russian capture of the zone a "declaration of war against the whole of Europe". [41]

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, was quoted as saying that it was a "totally pointless attack", [7] and "the condition of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, confinement, and nuclear waste storage facilities is unknown". [42] The International Atomic Energy Agency stated that there were "no casualties nor destruction at the industrial site" but that it was "of vital importance that the safe and secure operations of the nuclear facilities in that zone should not be affected or disrupted in any way". [21] [43]

Analysis

The approach from Belarus via Chernobyl to Kyiv Battle of Ivankiv (2022).png
The approach from Belarus via Chernobyl to Kyiv

In the greater picture of the Kyiv offensive, the capture of Chernobyl could be considered a waypoint for Russian troops advancing towards Kyiv. Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the United States Army Europe, stated that the exclusion zone was "important because of where it sits... If Russian forces were attacking Kyiv from the north, Chernobyl is right there on the way." Former American Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia Evelyn Farkas said that the Russian forces "want to surround the capital" and that they "certainly don't want loose nuclear material floating around" in case of a Ukrainian insurgency. [44] [45]

The exclusion zone is important for containing fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986; as such, Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs adviser Anton Herashchenko said that "if the occupiers' artillery strikes hit the nuclear waste storage facility, radioactive dust may cover the territories of Ukraine, Belarus and the EU countries". [41] According to BBC News, monitoring stations in the area reported a 20-fold increase in radiation levels, up to 65  μSv/h . [46] For comparison, the average person is exposed to 0.41 μSv/h from background radiation. At 65 μSv/h it would require more than a month of continuous exposure to meet the conservative yearly exposure limit for US radiation workers. [47] This does not account for inhaled or ingested radioactive particles, which increase exposure rates. Claire Corkhill of the University of Sheffield stated that the increase was localised and was due in part to "increased movement of people and vehicles in and around the Chernobyl zone [that] will have kicked up radioactive dust that's on the ground". [46]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chernobyl</span> Partially abandoned city in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine

Chernobyl or Chornobyl is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about 90 kilometres (60 mi) north of Kyiv, and 160 kilometres (100 mi) southwest of the Belarusian city of Gomel. Before its evacuation, the city had about 14,000 residents. While living anywhere within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is technically illegal today, authorities tolerate those who choose to live within some of the less irradiated areas, and an estimated 150 people live in Chernobyl in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents</span> Severe disruptive events involving fissile or fusile materials

A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include lethal effects to individuals, large radioactivity release to the environment, or a reactor core melt. The prime example of a "major nuclear accident" is one in which a reactor core is damaged and significant amounts of radioactive isotopes are released, such as in the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pripyat</span> Former City in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine

Pripyat, also known as Prypiat, is a mostly abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1970 as the ninth atomgrad to serve the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which is located in the adjacent abandoned Chernobyl. Pripyat was officially proclaimed a city in 1979 and had grown to a population of 49,360 by the time it was evacuated on the afternoon of 27 April 1986, one day after the Chernobyl disaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chernobyl exclusion zone</span> Disaster Exclusion Zone in Ukraine

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, also called the 30-Kilometre Zone or simply The Zone, was established shortly after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant</span> Decommissioned nuclear power plant in Ukraine

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) is a nuclear power plant undergoing decommissioning. ChNPP is located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, 16.5 kilometers (10 mi) northwest of the city of Chernobyl, 16 kilometers (10 mi) from the Belarus–Ukraine border, and about 100 kilometers (62 mi) north of Kyiv. The plant was cooled by an engineered pond, fed by the Pripyat River about 5 kilometers (3 mi) northwest from its juncture with the Dnieper River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant</span> Nuclear-power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southeastern Ukraine is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. It has been under Russian control since 2022. It was built by the Soviet Union near the city of Enerhodar, on the southern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper river. From 1996 to 2022, it was operated by Energoatom, which operates Ukraine's other three nuclear power stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chernobyl disaster</span> 1986 nuclear accident in the Soviet Union

The Chernobyl disaster began on 26 April 1986 with the explosion of the No. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near the city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, near the Belarus border in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuclear energy accidents rated at the maximum severity on the International Nuclear Event Scale, the other being the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. The response involved more than 500,000 personnel and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles. It remains the worst nuclear disaster in history, and the costliest disaster in human history, with an estimated cost of $700 billion USD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chernobyl New Safe Confinement</span> Protective building over Ukrainian nuclear reactor

The New Safe Confinement is a structure put in place in 2016 to confine the remains of the number 4 reactor unit at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in Ukraine, which was destroyed during the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. The structure also encloses the temporary Shelter Structure (sarcophagus) that was built around the reactor immediately after the disaster. The New Safe Confinement is designed to prevent the release of radioactive contaminants, protect the reactor from external influence, facilitate the disassembly and decommissioning of the reactor, and prevent water intrusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of the Chernobyl disaster</span> Assessment of Chernobyls impact on Earth since 1986

The Chernobyl disaster of 26 April 1986 triggered the release of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere in the form of both particulate and gaseous radioisotopes. As of 2024, it remains the world's largest known release of radioactivity into the natural environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavutych</span> City in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine

Slavutych is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, purpose-built for the evacuated personnel of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the 1986 disaster that occurred near the city of Pripyat. Geographically located within Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast, Slavutych is administratively subordinated to the Kyiv Oblast and is part of Vyshhorod Raion. It is coterminous with Slavutych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 2021 the city had a population of 24,464.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Forest</span> Forest within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine

The Red Forest is the ten-square-kilometre (4 sq mi) area surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant within the Exclusion Zone, located in Polesia. The name "Red Forest" comes from the ginger-brown colour of the pine trees after they died following the absorption of high levels of ionizing radiation as a consequence of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on 26 April 1986. The site remains one of the most contaminated areas in the world today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear power in Ukraine</span>

Ukraine operates four nuclear power plants with 15 reactors located in Volhynia and South Ukraine. The total installed nuclear power capacity is over 13 GWe, ranking 7th in the world in 2020. Energoatom, a Ukrainian state enterprise, operates all four active nuclear power stations in Ukraine. In 2019, nuclear power supplied over 20% of Ukraine's energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaths due to the Chernobyl disaster</span> The death toll of the 1986 Chernobyl incident

The Chernobyl disaster, considered the worst nuclear disaster in history, occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, then part of the Soviet Union, now in Ukraine. From 1986 onward, the total death toll of the disaster has lacked consensus; as peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet and other sources have noted, it remains contested. There is consensus that a total of approximately 30 people died from immediate blast trauma and acute radiation syndrome (ARS) in the seconds to months after the disaster respectively, with 60 in total in the decades since, inclusive of later radiation induced cancer. However, there is considerable debate concerning the accurate number of projected deaths that have yet to occur due to the disaster's long-term health effects; long-term death estimates range from up to 4,000 for the most exposed people of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, to 16,000 cases in total for all those exposed on the entire continent of Europe, with figures as high as 60,000 when including the relatively minor effects around the globe. Such numbers are based on the heavily contested linear no-threshold model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone wildfires</span> Forest fires in Chernobyl exclusion zone

The 2020 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone wildfires were a series of wildfires that began burning inside Ukraine's Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in April 2020. The fires were largely extinguished within two weeks. At least one suspect was arrested for alleged arson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Enerhodar</span> Battle of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 4 March 2022, a military engagement took place between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the city of Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on the southern front of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Enerhodar is the location of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which generates nearly half of the country's electricity derived from nuclear power and more than a fifth of total electricity generated in Ukraine, as well as a nearby thermal power station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on nuclear power plants</span>

Ukraine is home to four nuclear power plants, as well as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. As of January 2024, both the Chernobyl and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants saw battles during the war that resulted from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The invasion has prompted significant discussion about the status of the power plants, including fears of potential disasters, and has also prompted debates about nuclear energy programmes in other European countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast</span> Military occupation by Russia

The Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast was a military occupation that began on the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The capital, Kyiv, was extensively bombed during the invasion, but was never captured. However, many cities were captured near northern and western parts of the oblast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant crisis</span> Ongoing nuclear safety crisis during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has become the center of an ongoing nuclear safety crisis, described by Ukraine as an act of nuclear terrorism by Russia.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several senior Russian politicians, including president Vladimir Putin, former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, have made a number of statements widely seen as nuclear blackmail. The possibility of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons, and the risk of broader nuclear escalation, has been widely discussed by commentators and in the media. By 2024, many of the Russian government's "red lines" had been crossed without nuclear weapons being used in response. As well as nuclear weapons threats, the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has led to a crisis over the safety of the plant and the risk of a nuclear disaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Nuclear Power Plant Protection Battalion (Ukraine)</span> Military unit

The 1st Nuclear Power Plant Defense Battalion' is a battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine tasked with CBRN defense especially in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in the aftermath of the Chernobyl Disaster and has therefore seen combat against Russian forces during the Capture of Chernobyl amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine with 169 soldiers of the Battalion being taken captive. In its current form, it was established in 1991 and headquartered at Slavutych.

References

  1. ↑ Kilner, James (1 April 2022). "Russian soldier dies from radiation poisoning in Chernobyl". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  2. ↑ Cotovio, Vasco; Pleitgen, Frederik; Blunt, Byron; Markina, Daria (9 April 2022). "Ukrainians shocked by 'crazy' scene at Chernobyl after Russian pullout reveals radioactive contamination". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  3. ↑ Mohling, Judith (11 March 2022). "Peace Train: It's time to bid nuclear power plants goodbye". Colorado Daily . Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Chernobyl power plant captured by Russian forces -Ukrainian official". Reuters . 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Coakley, Amanda (24 February 2022). "Lukashenko Is Letting Putin Use Belarus to Attack Ukraine". Foreign Policy . Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  6. ↑ "Chernobyl nuclear plant targeted as Russia invades Ukraine". Al Jazeera . 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Russian forces seize Chernobyl nuclear power plant". BBC News . 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  8. ↑ Tobias, Ben (7 March 2022). "Ukraine war: Chernobyl workers' 12-day ordeal under Russian guard". BBC News . Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "The 1986 Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident". International Atomic Energy Agency. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  10. ↑ Marples, David R. (1988). The Social Impact of the Chernobyl Disaster . Introduction be Victor G. Snell. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN   978-0-312-02432-1. LCCN   88018314. OCLC   489602767. OL   2041623M – via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ Ritzer, George; Atalay, Zeynep (1 March 2010). Readings in Globalization: Key Concepts and Major Debates. John Wiley & Sons. p. 272. ISBN   978-1-4051-3273-2. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  12. ↑ Bondarkov, Mikhail D.; Oskolkov, Boris Ya.; Gaschak, Sergey P.; Kireev, Sergey I.; Maksimenko, Andrey M.; Proskura, Nikolai I.; Jannik, G. Timothy; Farfán, Eduardo B. (October 2011). "Environmental Radiation Monitoring in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – History and Results 25 Years After". Health Physics . 101 (4): 442–485. doi:10.1097/HP.0b013e318229df28. PMID   21878769. S2CID   34630968. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  13. ↑ Petryna, Adriana (2002). Life Exposed: Biological Citizens After Chernobyl. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-0-691-09019-1. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  14. ↑ Economic Commission for Europe (17 December 1999). Environmental Performance Reviews: Ukraine – First Review. United Nations. p. 50. ISBN   978-92-1-004057-0. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  15. ↑ Roblin, Sebastien (16 February 2022). "Russian Troops Just Built A Pontoon Bridge Near Chernobyl". Forbes . Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 "Defending Kyiv Region: Interview with Omega Special Unit Operator". Militarnyi. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Kamenev, Maxim (22 June 2022). "How Russia took over Chernobyl". openDemocracy. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Near Chernobyl, Residents Recall Brutality Of Russian Invasion". RFE/RL. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  19. ↑ "Russian troops breach area near Chernobyl, adviser to Ukrainian minister says". Reuters . 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  20. ↑ Restuccia, Andrew (24 February 2022). "White House Calls for Release of Any Hostages at Chernobyl Site". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  21. 1 2 "IAEA Director General Statement on the Situation in Ukraine" (Press release). International Atomic Energy Agency. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  22. ↑ Karmanau, Yuras; Heintz, Jim; Isachenkov, Vladimir; Litvinova, Dasha (25 February 2022). "Ukraine's capital under threat as Russia presses invasion". Boston.com . Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  23. 1 2 Vincent, Faustine (16 June 2022). "Chernobyl: The story of 35 days of Russian occupation". Le Monde. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  24. ↑ "'No way out': Life under the Russians at Chernobyl". Radio France Internationale. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  25. ↑ Kuleba, Dmytro [@DmytroKuleba] (9 March 2022). "The only electrical grid supplying the Chornobyl NPP and all its nuclear facilities occupied by Russian army is damaged. CNPP lost all electric supply. I call on the international community to urgently demand Russia to cease fire and allow repair units to restore power supply 1/2" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022– via Twitter.
  26. ↑ "Live updates: Russian troops shelling nuclear power station". Associated Press . 3 March 2022. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  27. ↑ "Update 14 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine" (Press release). International Atomic Energy Agency. 7 March 2022. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  28. ↑ "Situation at Chernobyl NPP under joint control — Russian diplomat". TASS. 9 May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  29. ↑ "Update 16 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine" (Press release). International Atomic Energy Agency. 9 March 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  30. ↑ Child, David; Gadzo, Mersiha; Najjar, Farah; Siddiqui, Usaid (10 March 2022). "Latest Ukraine updates: UN stresses 'urgent' need for talks". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  31. ↑ "Unprotected Russian soldiers disturbed radioactive dust in Chernobyl's 'Red Forest', workers say". Reuters . 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  32. ↑ Cole, Brendan (31 March 2022). "Russian Troops Sickened by Contaminated Chernobyl Soil: Official". Newsweek . Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  33. ↑ Kilner, James (1 April 2022). "Russian soldier dies from radiation poisoning in Chernobyl". The Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  34. ↑ Kramer, Andrew E.; Prickett, Ivor (8 April 2022). "Russian Blunders in Chernobyl: 'They Came and Did Whatever They Wanted'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  35. ↑ Guenot, Marianne. "Ukraine shares video it says proves Russian troops dug trenches in Chernobyl, disturbing radioactive soil". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  36. ↑ Guenot, Marianne (1 April 2022). "Chernobyl scientists accused looters of stealing radioactive material from labs there". Business Insider . Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  37. ↑ Qena, Nebi; Karmanau, Yuras (29 March 2022). "Moscow says it will curb assault on Kyiv, Chernihiv; Russian troops seen withdrawing". The Times of Israel . Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  38. ↑ Suliman, Adela; Francis, Ellen; Stern, David L.; Bearak, Max; Villegas, Paulina (1 April 2022). "Russian troops have withdrawn from Chernobyl, Ukraine agency says". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  39. ↑ "UN Atomic Agency Chief Says He'll Lead Support Mission To Chernobyl 'As Soon As Possible'". RFE/RL. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  40. ↑ Middleton, Joe (3 June 2022). "Inside Chernobyl nuclear plant devastated by Russian troops as $135m of equipment destroyed". The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  41. 1 2 Shabad, Rebecca (24 February 2022). "'This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe': Zelenskyy warns Russia is trying to seize Chernobyl". NBC News. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  42. ↑ Griffiths, Brent D. (24 February 2022). "Russian troops seize Chernobyl's remnants after a battle, risking Western efforts to contain one of the world's most radioactive sites". Business Insider . Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  43. ↑ Murphy, Francois (24 February 2022). "IAEA says Ukraine nuclear power plants running safely, no 'destruction' at Chernobyl". Reuters . Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  44. ↑ Seitz-Wald, Alex (24 February 2022). "Why would Russia want to take Chernobyl?". NBC News. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  45. ↑ Mohammed, Arshad; Landay, Jonathan (24 February 2022). "Explainer: Why Russia and Ukraine are fighting for Chernobyl disaster site". Reuters . Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  46. 1 2 Gill, Victoria (25 February 2022). "Chernobyl: Radiation spike at nuclear plant seized by Russian forces". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  47. ↑ "Ionizing Radiation Dose Ranges (Rem and Sievert charts)" (PDF). United States Department of Energy. June 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2018.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.