By Asher McShane
February 24, 2022
-LBC
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces are trying to seize the Chernobyl nuclear plant, site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
Senior Ukrainian officials warned that fighting near Chernobyl could cause nuclear waste contamination to spread across the region and further across Europe.
An adviser for the Interior Minister of Ukraine, Anton Gerashchenko said today: “The invaders from the territory of Belarus have moved into the Chernobyl AES Zone.
“The National Guardsmen, who guard the collectors of unsafe nuclear radioactive waste, are fighting hard.
“If the invaders artillery hits and ruins/damages the collectors of nuclear waste , radioactive nuclear dust can can be spread over the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and the country of the EU!”
The Ukrainian President believes Putin’s forces are attempting to capture the plant itself.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter: “Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the #Chornobyl_NPP. Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated. Reported this to Swedish PM. This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.”
The plant lies 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of the capital Kyiv.
The exploded reactor has been covered by a protective shelter to prevent radiation leak and the entire plant has been decommissioned.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Estonia wrote online: “Bloody battle near Chornobyl nuclear facilities. Our people die to prevent ecological catastrophe in Europe.”
One journalist based in Minsk wrote: “Russian troops from Belarus entered the Chernobyl zone. Heavy fights between them and Ukrainian soldiers guarding the storage of radioactive waste. We don’t know about the fallout yet. But this is an absolute madness.”
A radioactive disaster struck the Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986. It is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history.
The development comes hours after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Hundreds of civilians were reported dead after Russian and Belorussian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border and missiles rained down on cities after Putin launched a “special military operation” and saying he wants to “demilitarize”, not occupy, the country.
Boris Johnson said: “I am appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine and I have spoken to President Zelenskyy to discuss next steps.
“President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
“The UK and our allies will respond decisively.”
Defence secretary Ben Wallace said: “This is naked aggression against a democratic country which had dared to express a different aspiration than being a supine neighbour to Russia.
“No one should forget this day. Putin thinks this land grab is about securing his legacy -it will be, but not the one that he wishes.”
In a statement the Ukrainian foreign ministry said: “This is an act of war, an attack on sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a gross violation of the UN Statute and the fundamental norms and principles of international law.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace said: “This is naked aggression against a democratic country which had dared to express a different aspiration than being a supine neighbour to Russia.
“No one should forget this day. Putin thinks this land grab is about securing his legacy -it will be, but not the one that he wishes.”
