After five weeks, Russian troops withdraw from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Many soldiers are probably irradiated. According to Ukraine, the recruits did not know they had been sent to one of the worst contaminated areas in the world.
Shortly after the invaders crossed the border from the north, they found themselves in heavily contaminated territory. The damaged Chernobyl nuclear power plant is only a few kilometers away from Belarus and around it, in a radius of 30 kilometers, there is a restricted area. Those who work in the contaminated area, such as foresters, firefighters or technicians, are required to leave every few weeks for health reasons. Apparently, the Russian troops are following this recommendation.
“Small number” of Russians are still there
“This morning the invaders declared their intention to leave the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,” Ukrainian nuclear energy company Energoatom said. The Russian soldiers would now “march in two columns towards the Ukrainian-Belarusian border”. A “small number” of Russian soldiers are still in the nuclear complex, according to Energoatom. In addition, there is “evidence that a column of Russian soldiers who are besieging the city of Slavutysh is currently being formed and is to move to Belarus”. The site houses the employees who handle the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Some of the soldiers are said to have received “significant doses of radiation”, according to Ukrainian sources. However, it was “impossible to quantify the extent of the radioactive contamination,” according to the power plant boss. According to Energoatom, they dug trenches in the forest in the exclusion zone. In doing so, they are believed to have come into contact with irradiated material beneath the surface. At the first sign of illness, the soldiers would have panicked and prepared to withdraw. According to other reports, the Russians plowed through the ground with tanks, raising masses of radioactive dust.
Soils and forests particularly stressed
The radiation legacy of the GAU of April 26, 1986 is distributed very differently even 36 years after the accident. In the village of Chernobyl, which is about 20 kilometers from the nuclear power plant, the pollution is not too high, unlike in Pribyat, the ghost town within sight of the reactor. Even directly in front of the damaged Block 4 (even without the new protective cover) it was possible to stay for a few hours, but a few hundred meters further, where the blown-off roof had landed in the forest, only a few minutes. The reason: the radioactive particles are mainly deposited in and on the ground, trees and bushes. If dust and leaves are thrown up, the dangerous radiation is redistributed.
This is one of the reasons why agriculture and gardening are prohibited in the exclusion zone. Although many returned residents in the area are not complying. However, this creates another problem: it is hardly possible for the local foresters to manage the forests. But this is urgently needed, as Ukraine is now suffering from extreme drought, which in turn increases the risk of forest fires. Just a few days ago, parts of the exclusion zone were on fire. “Big fires have started in the exclusion zone, which can have very serious consequences,” said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk at the end of March. However, because of the Russian troops, it was “impossible to completely control and extinguish the fires”.
Not a good idea: digging holes
The last time there was a major fire in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant was in 2020. So much cesium-137 was distributed by the ten-day fire that traces of the radioactive element were still measurable in Germany. In short: digging holes in the exclusion zone is not a good idea.
According to the Belarusian opposition portal telegraf.by, without radiation protection measures, the soldiers would have stayed in the extremely contaminated “Red Forest”. The Russian fighters are said to have never heard of the Chernobyl disaster. Iryna Wereshtschuk wrote on social media that doctors in protective suits had to show up to inform the recruits about the dangers of their actions.
The withdrawal of the troops may have other reasons than the radioactive contamination, there also seems to be a rotation of troop units in play. The soldiers are said to have taken hostages with them. “As they ran away from the Chernobyl nuclear facility, the Russian occupiers took away members of the national guard they had been holding since February 24,” Ukraine’s nuclear agency said. It was unclear how many Ukrainian soldiers were involved.
At the beginning of the occupation, it was still said that the National Guard would guard the nuclear power plant ruins together with the Russians. The soldiers also stole “equipment and other valuables” from the decommissioned nuclear facility. Ukrainian specialists would now be sent to the site to search it for “potential explosive devices”.
Swell: DPA, AFP, “”, ,
Source: Stern
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