Ukraine President Volodymyr Zalensky on Thursday revealed that Russian forces were trying to seize the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
According to the Ukraine head of state, the attempt by Russia to attack Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant would not only destroy many lives but also amount to a declaration of war against European countries.
As a result, Zalensky in a tweet disclosed that their security forces are doing all they can to protect the dangerous facility.
“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 Magdalena Andersson. This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.” Zelensky wrote.
This comes in the wake of President Vladimir Putin announcing the start of a special military operation in Donbas. Thus, Russia launched a war and attacked Ukraine.
Fast-forward, Russia is now targeting the Chernobyl NPP and shall they attack the facility, more than 90,000 people were likely to die of cancers caused by radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, countering a United Nations report that predicted the death toll would be around 4,000.
According to Center for Independent Environmental Assessment of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the sharp increased mortality in western Russia over the past 15 years was due to Chernobyl radiation.
“On the basis of demographic data, during the last 15 years, 60,000 people have died additionally in Russia because of the Chernobyl accident and estimates of the total death toll for Ukraine and Belarus could be another 140,000,” Revealed Greenpeace’s international office in a statement.
The report further added that “radiation from the disaster has had a devastating effect on survivors” apart from cancer cases — “damaging immune and endocrine systems, leading to accelerated aging, cardiovascular and blood illnesses, psychological illnesses, chromosome aberrations and an increase of deformities in fetuses and children.”
In 1986, there was a Chernobyl accident that was caused by inadequately trained personnel who were operating it.
The accident caused the largest uncontrolled radioactive release into the environment ever recorded for any civilian operation, and large quantities of radioactive substances were released into the air for about 10 days as reported by the World Nuclear association.
“This caused serious social and economic disruption for large populations in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Two radionuclides, the short-lived iodine-131 and the long-lived caesium-137, were particularly significant for the radiation dose they delivered to members of the public.” Added the body.
Located 70 miles northwest of Kyiv, the exploded Chernobyl Reactor No.4 are still regarded highly dangerous, with massive quantities of contaminated material inside a giant metal sarcophagus.
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