One of the most disturbing events that took place early on in Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the Russian takeover of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This is the most sensitive facility in the country – not only because, 36 years ago, it was the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history, but also because today it holds huge amounts of used nuclear fuel, despite the fact that the reactor is not active.
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On Feb. 24, Russian forces entered the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, an area with a radius of 30 kilometers (18 miles) surrounding the power plant, where movement is restricted due to high pollution from radioactive particles. A unit from the National Guard of Ukraine, responsible for securing the reactor, decided against resisting the Russians so as to avoid an even greater disaster than a firefight in the volatile area, but the damage was already done.
"With their arrival, the Russians immediately took control of the building that served as residence and headquarters, and essentially turned all the 210 people on duty into hostages," one of the reactor's employees, who asked to remain unnamed, told Israel Hayom. "In addition, members of the National Guard, who were securing the site, were also captured, as well as firefighters, the medical team, and four people wandering in the area, who happened to be there at an especially bad time. The situation could have been much worse because a total of 2,200 people are employed at the reactor, but most of them were working remotely because of COVID restrictions."
After a short time, the staff on shift returned to carry out their regular work in the reactor, but most of the workers' movement has been supervised by the Russians or accompanied by soldiers. The members of the Ukrainian National Guard were taken to a protected compound, where they are still being held.
The worker explained that a food and equipment shortage quickly developed because it isn't simple to supply the reactor: Kiev is 111 kilometers (69 miles) away and the city of Slavutych (where most of the workers live) 46 kilometers (28 miles), via a Belarussian border crossing.
He said that last month, the Russians sent a television crew to document the situation at the reactor for Russian viewers.
"They've brought television crews to the reactor twice. The first time they stole protective clothing from the company that built the sarcophagus above No. 4 reactor and made a fake report about the distribution of humanitarian aid to the staff. During the filming, the shift manager posted in the internal system that we hadn't received anything from the occupiers."
The Russians were busy with more than propaganda while at Chernobyl. They have twice disconnected the power supply, something that can lead to the fuel overheating. In addition, they dismantled and stole a radiation research lab worth €6 million ($6.6 million).
In any case, only after nearly a month, on March 20, did they allow the departure of some of the hostages. Since the bridge above the Dnieper River was destroyed, the evacuation was carried out in a number of stages using boats.
"The shift team, who according to the safety standards were supposed to work a maximum of 12 hours, were there for a total of 600 hours. They returned home drained and exhausted. They were replaced by 46 other experts, who essentially volunteered to be hostages in order to allow work at the reactor. We don't know when the next rotation will be."
"Moreover, at the end of last week Russian forces entered the city of Slavutych," he continued. "There was a lot of heavy equipment and weaponry and these unsupervised movements by Russian forces in the Exclusion Zone raised radioactive dust from the ground and significantly increased the level of radiation in the entire area, which has continued until now. Moreover, for reasons not understood, there have been a number of forest fires in the Exclusion Zone, which have only increased the pollution. For a long time, the Russian Army prevented the firefighters from approaching."
There are two nuclear facilities storing 21,000 used nuclear fuel devices in the Chernobyl area. One of them is an older, wet storage reservoir, containing used fuel from reactors 1, 2, and 3, and a modern, dry reservoir, where they had begun to transfer the used fuel from the first reservoir, a process that they expected to complete within a decade. Moreover, there is a tremendous nuclear risk from the covering above Reactor 4, which exploded in 1986.
Q: Is it fair to say that the presence of foreigners, especially armed ones, in the area of the reactor, increases the nuclear risks?
"It's fair to say that any unsupervised movement in the Exclusion Zone increases the risk of radioactive pollution, and any presence of weapons next to the nuclear reactors, as well as contact with the power station's equipment by people without proper training, are a direct threat to nuclear security."
Q: What do you mean by "contact with the [power station's] equipment?" They will press the wrong button?
"Theoretically, yes, for example, while transporting the nuclear fuel. But, as of now, they're not doing this work."
Saturday saw Ukrainian media report that reports that Russia had begun to evacuate Russian soldiers suffering from radiation sickness.
It was claimed that the invaders arrived without the required protective equipment for a continued stay at the location. At the end of last week one of the senior figures at Chernobyl wrote on his Facebook page: "The Russians have begun to fortify themselves in the Red Forest," the most dangerous place in the Exclusion Zone. "I hope that they dig in deeper and remain a lot longer," he added.
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