by Guido Olimpio and online editors
Trenches were dug in the “Red Forest”, near the nuclear power plant. In recent days there had been reports of alleged hospitalizations among the Russian military who had occupied the Chernobyl area
Images captured by a drone show the trenches and positions dug by the Russians in the Chernobyl sector. Nowabandoned positions created in one of the areas of highest radiation risk.
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In recent days, as the area around the plant returned to the control of the Kiev authorities, there have been reports of suspected shelters among the Russian military previously stationed in the area.
This appears to be drone footage of trenches dug by Russian troops #Chernobyl where it is inadvisable to touch the ground, let alone dig it. We reported last week on Ukrainian claims that Russian soldiers were equipped with outdated Sovietera radiation detectors https://t.co/bKlDxwryti
Dominic Waghorn (@DominicWaghorn) April 6, 2022
According to some Ukrainian employees of Energoatom, Ukraine’s nuclear power company, the soldiers were exposed to significant amounts of radiation after traversing and digging trenches in the socalled “Red Forest” near the power plant. After the area was evacuated, they were reportedly transferred to Belarus and then admitted to a hospital that specializes in treating diseases related to radiation exposure. There is currently no official confirmation from the Russian side of these alleged hospitalizations.
The “Red Forest” owes its name to the fact that the tree tops turned red after the accident in 1986 due to the radiation absorbed when the reactor exploded. The forested area surrounding the facility is one of the most contaminated sites in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, which encompasses the 30 km radius area around the facility. According to Ukrainians working at Chernobyl quoted by the Guardian the Russian soldiers sent to guard the area did not have adequate equipment: theirs would have been a “suicide mission”.
These episodes are cited by Ukrainian sources to show that Moscow doesn’t care at all about the conditions of the soldiers involved in the invasion of Ukraine. These are stories in addition to those about the lack of adequate food, supplies, and equipment. Real news (irrefutable) and propaganda (inevitable on both fronts) mingle as in any conflict. Everyone tries to point out or emphasize the opponent’s problems.
April 6, 2022 (change April 6, 2022 | 16:17)
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