Russian troops have taken control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian presidential office said on Thursday, 24 February, reported Reuters.
"It is impossible to say the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe after a totally pointless attack by the Russians," Podolyak said, adding, "This is one of the most serious threats in Europe today."
The plant, he said, was captured even as Ukrainian forces were putting up a "fierce fight" against Russian forces that invaded Ukraine and took control of their land, air and sea, making it the largest attack since the World War II on the European state.
A source from the Russian security told Reuters that Russian troops took over the Chernobyl "exclusion zone" before entering Ukraine on Thursday. Russia, he said, wanted to control the reactor and in turn signal NATO to not interfere with it militarily.
The world had witnessed one of its worst nuclear accidents in April 1986, after one of the nuclear reactors of the Chernobyl plant exploded and sent out harmful radioactive waste across Europe. The plant, located 130 kilometers north of the capital Kyiv and 12 miles from border with Belarus, has since been decommissioned and the exploded reactor covered by a protective shield.
According to a report in the Independent, Russia's goal of capturing Chernobyl is not the control of the facility but has a strategic purpose.
It could have been taken over as a staging point for troops and equipment as there is a main road connecting it to Kiev. Considering the site's nature, it is not likely that any equipment stored at the facility would be targeted for bombing or artillery fire, the publication reported.
Commenting on the development, Juliette Kayyem, CNN analyst and national security expert tweeted," Chernobyl is the shortest route from Russia to Kyiv. The facility is not the goal."
Prior to the Russian troops capturing the site, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had tweeted saying: "Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the Chornobyl_NPP. Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated. Reported this to Swedish PM. This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe."
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) located in Vienna said it has been following Ukraine situation with grave concern, and appealed for "maximum restraint" to avoid any action that may put Ukraine 's nuclear facilities at risk.
(With inputs from Reuters, Independent)
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