The Ukrainian Government informed that after intense combat, Russian forces took control of the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The news was confirmed by Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak who, in a statement, said that the country had lost control of the site where the worst nuclear disaster in history took place in 1986.
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“After a fierce battle, Ukraine lost control over the Chernobyl site. The status of the former nuclear power plant, confinement, and nuclear waste storage facilities is unknown,” he said.
He also stated that this is one of the most serious threats in Europe today: “It is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe after a totally senseless attack by the Russians,” he added.
Hours earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had already denounced that Russian forces were trying to take over the exclusion zone.
“Russian occupation forces are trying to take over Chernobyl. Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 is not repeated… This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe,” he wrote on Twitter.
Translated by María Isabel Carrasco Cara Chards