Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is a closed nuclear power plant located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine
Russia is desperately pushing its position into Ukraine territories, with ground forces reportedly capturing Chernobyl nuclear power plant, reports the CNBC.
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, had earlier warned that the Russian forces are attempting to seize control of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
He had said: “Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the Chernobyl [Nuclear Power Plant]. Our defenders are sacrificing their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated,” Mr Zelensky tweeted.
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The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had earlier also tweeted that an attack on Ukraine by Russia could “cause another ecological disaster” at the power plant.
“In 1986, the world saw the biggest technological disaster in Chernobyl,” the ministry tweeted. “If Russia continues the war, Chernobyl can happen again in 2022.”
But the CNBC, in its live update on the war, reported that Russian soldiers invading from Belarus in the north had entered the exclusion zone around Chernobyl, as well as the nuclear waste storage facility.
The Russian, Ukraine war started after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine, claiming it’s intended to protect civilians.
In a televised address, Putin said the action comes in response to threats coming from Ukraine. He added that Russia doesn’t have a goal to occupy Ukraine.Putin said the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian regime.
Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to consequences they have never seen. He accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia’s demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees. He said the Russian military operation aims to ensure a demilitarisation of Ukraine.
Putin said that all Ukrainian servicemen who lay down arms will be able to safely leave the zone of combat.