Adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country has lost control of Chernobyl A nuclear power plant after Ukrainian forces fought to defend it from Russian forces, according to reports.
It was the counsellor, Mihailo Podolak The Associated Press quoted Other news agencies said that after “a foolish attack by the Russians … it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe.”
The IAEA also said Ukraine had told it that “unidentified armed forces” had taken control of all reactor facilities, without causing casualties or damage at the site.
Ukraine’s Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said Thursday that the agency is following the situation in Ukraine with “grave concern” and calls for “maximum restraint” to avoid actions that could endanger Ukraine’s nuclear facilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had been told that nuclear power plants operating in Ukraine were operating safely and securely.
Zelensky warned earlier that Russian forces were trying to seize the abandoned and closed Chernobyl nuclear site, an effort he described as a “declaration of war against all of Europe”.
“Our defenders are sacrificing their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated,” he said. chirpAfter hours Russia begins its invasion of Ukraine.
The plant disaster in 1986 was the world’s worst nuclear accident. An explosion and fires at the site – about 80 miles north of the Ukrainian capital – sent radiation into the air, with large quantities transported through Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
Dozens were evacuated from the area in the wake of the avalanche, and at least 32 people died from the blast and its immediate aftermath. Nearly 11,000 cases of thyroid cancer may be linked to the catastrophe, according to a 2016 report from the World Health Organization.
The plant has been decommissioned and a protective shelter covers the reactor to prevent radiation from escaping. The area around the reactor is off-limits to the public.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.