The Russians reportedly stole radioactive material from the Chernobyl nuclear ruins
04/10/2022, 19:28
According to Ukrainian information, 133 highly radioactive substances were stolen from the nuclear ruins of Chernobyl by the Russian military. If not handled professionally, even a small part can be fatal. The Ukrainian energy minister speaks of shocking ignorance on the part of Russia.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian soldiers stole radioactive substances from research laboratories during the occupation of the Chernobyl nuclear ruins. The authority responsible for managing the exclusion zone around the nuclear plant announced that 133 highly radioactive substances had been stolen. Even a small part is deadly “if handled unprofessionally”.
Russian forces took control of the nuclear ruins on February 24, the first day of their attack on Ukraine. They finally withdrew from the site at the end of March. According to Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko, Russian soldiers exposed themselves to “shocking” levels of radiation during the occupation of Chernobyl. Some of them may be less than a year old, the minister wrote on Facebook on Friday after visiting the restricted area.
“They dug in radioactive soil, collected radioactive sand in bags used to fortify positions, and inhaled that dust. Every Russian soldier will take a piece of Chernobyl home. Dead or alive,” Galushchenko explained. Russian military equipment is also contaminated. “The ignorance of Russian soldiers is shocking.”
Chernobyl Workers Concerned About Missing Colleagues
Ukraine also accuses the Russian military of kidnapping Chernobyl personnel to Russia. Former employees of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant have already expressed their great concern about this. “This worries us,” engineer Valeriy Semyonov told the Russian-language branch of the British broadcaster BBC. The Ukrainian leadership accuses Russia of holding Chernobyl workers hostage in the building’s air-raid shelter for nearly a month and then forcibly taking them to Russia. The information has not yet been verified.
The worst nuclear accident in history took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. The plant has since been decommissioned and a huge protective shield has been designed to prevent the escape of radioactivity. Radioactive waste is still stored in Chernobyl today.