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Senior Ukrainian officials have urged the UN to take immediate action to prevent a “nuclear catastrophe” by demilitarizing Russian forces that have occupied the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
“Is the world prepared for a nuclear catastrophe because of Russia’s bungling?” asked Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk in a telegram post on Wednesday.
“The occupiers have built an ammunition depot near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,” she continued, adding that “the occupiers’ stupidity is worse than their villainy.”
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The New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure over the old sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, November 22, 2018. (REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo)
Vereshchuk, in a video address, called on the UN to set up a special mission in the region to prioritize demilitarization of the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant – which has been occupied by Russian troops since the first day of its deadly invasion last month.
Ukrainian workers have continued to operate the site, but safety officials remain concerned that the power plant could once again face a nuclear disaster similar to the 1986 disaster.
More than 30 people were killed after the Chernobyl blast, but a 2005 UN study warned the disaster could kill up to 4,000 people due to radiation exposure.
Workers at the plant warned this week that Russian troops kicked up clouds of radioactive dust after driving armored vehicles through an area known as the “Red Forest.”
The troops reportedly wore no equipment that would protect them from radiation poisoning.
The United Nations’ nuclear regulatory agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has responded to concerns about the risk of a nuclear accident by dispatching IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi to discuss the need for “urgent technical assistance” with senior Ukrainian government officials.
A satellite image with overlaid graphics shows military vehicles next to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, February 25, 2022.
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But Wereshuk argued the move wasn’t enough, saying the UN must put “pressure” on Russia to withdraw its troops from the region.
The IAEA announced on Tuesday that there had been no staff rotations at the Chernobyl power plant since mid-March.
The agency also reported that there were no further reports of damage to the nuclear research facility outside Kharkiv, which was previously hit by Russian shelling. The IAEA also noted that the facility’s nuclear material was “subcritical,” saying “there can be no nuclear chain reaction — and the radioactive inventory is low.”
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhia Plant, which houses six of Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors, has also been a target of Russian aggression.
View of the abandoned city of Pripyat in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on December 25, 2019. The Chernobyl disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant occurred on April 26, 1986. (STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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The IAEA said eight of Ukraine’s nuclear reactors remain operational.
The agency has not clarified how long Grossi will stay in Ukraine.