The Russian invaders continue to militarize the Chernobyl exclusion zone
This is to urge you to share this message so that the civilized world leaders finally dare to make the only right decision.
The Russian invaders continue to militarize the Chernobyl exclusion zone. This poses a very serious risk of damaging the insulation structures built over the station’s Unit 4 after its 1986 explosion. Such damage will definitely release a substantial amount of radioactive dust and contaminate not only Ukraine, but also other European countries.
The occupiers ignore these threats and continue to transport and store a huge amount of ammunition in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant. Through the city of Pripyat, a few hundred meters from the insulation facilities of the nuclear power plant, the Russian occupiers transport daily tens of tons of rockets, shells and mortar ammunition. Hundreds of tons of ammunition are being stored in the neighboring city of Pripyat – Chernobyl, which is also a short distance from the nuclear power plant. The Russian occupation forces are known to be increasingly using old and substandard ammunition lately, which increases the risk of their detonation during loading and transportation. Such accidents at the Russian military depots and arsenals are well known and occur regularly.
Also, forest fires have started in the exclusion zone, which might have very serious implications. Due to the occupation of the exclusion zone by the Russian forces, those fires are impossible to control. That might release radionuclides, which the wind can carry over long distances. This poses a serious radiation threat not only for Ukraine, but also for other European countries. Loss of control over the exclusion zone and the inability to control forest fires therein could threaten radiation facilities in the area.
This week a full rotation of the nuclear power plant personnel took place, these people having spent more than 600 hours at their jobs, bravely performing their duties under pressure from the occupiers. To replace these staff, 59 specialists, including six women, agreed to go to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to maintain the safe operation of the Chernobyl facilities. We consider all of them to be hostages of the occupiers.
In the context of nuclear safety, the irresponsible and unprofessional actions of the Russian military pose a very serious threat not only to Ukraine, but also to hundreds of millions of Europeans. Therefore, we demand that the UN Security Council take immediate action to demilitarize the Chernobyl exclusion zone and establish a special UN mission to remove the risk of a recurrence of the Chernobyl catastrophe as a result of the actions of the Russian occupation forces.