Russian soldiers are said to have stolen highly radioactive “souvenirs” from laboratories in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a Ukrainian authority said.
The invading troops have been accused by Ukraine’s state agency for restricted zone management of breaking into two laboratories at the decommissioned nuclear power plant.
They were allegedly involved in an act of “nuclear terrorism” by looting and destroying the facilities, the agency said on Facebook.
“New Darwin Award nominees,” it added, referring to tongue-in-cheek recognition of people who have allegedly contributed to human evolution by eliminating themselves from the gene pool through stupid choices.
The soldiers are said to have entered a storage facility with ionizing radiation sources, where they “stole and damaged 133 sources with a total activity of about seven million becquerels”.
Members of the Ukrainian National Guard have been held hostage in this room in an administration building of the Chernobyl power plant since the beginning of the Russian invasion.EPA/MIKHAIL PALINCHAK
Members of Ukraine’s National Guard patrol an area near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
The agency noted that the figure was comparable to 1,534 pounds of “radioactive waste containing beta and gamma rays”.
“Even a small portion of this activity is fatally dangerous when it involves unprofessional and uncontrollable behavior,” it said, adding that the location of the material is unknown.
Also looted was a laboratory at the NPP Security Institute, where the looters stole computers and other office equipment, the agency said.
Russian soldiers are said to have stolen highly radioactive objects as “souvenirs” from laboratories in Chernobyl. State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone
Ukraine’s state agency for the exclusion zone said the Russian soldiers were involved in an act of “nuclear terrorism” when they broke into the facility. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
“If radioactive material has been left behind and ‘disposed of’ in the Exclusion Zone, it poses a risk to staff, further underscoring the importance of immediately restoring radiation dosimetry studies and removing these highly active sources,” the agency added.
However, it was stressed that the items were likely stolen as “souvenirs”.
According to recent reports, several hundred Russian soldiers were withdrawn from the decommissioned nuclear facility after suffering “acute radiation sickness” and were treated in Belarus.
Ukrainian officials also claimed that Russian troops “looted and destroyed” a special laboratory in Chernobyl. EPA/MIKHAIL PALINCHAK
Several hundred Russian soldiers were reportedly withdrawn from the decommissioned nuclear facility after suffering from “acute radiation sickness”. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
An employee of the public council of Ukraine’s state agency for restricted zone management said the soldiers fled “irradiated” and were taken by bus to a medical facility in Gomel, Belarus.
Ukrainian officials had previously claimed that Russian forces “looted and destroyed” a special laboratory containing “highly active” radioactive samples.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of using the Chernobyl exclusion zone to prepare for new attacks.