Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed for Russia to be stopped, citing ongoing drone activity over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on the disaster’s 40th anniversary.
Chernobyl Disaster Anniversary
Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, when the explosion of the fourth reactor on April 26, 1986, led to contamination across parts of Ukraine and Belarus.
Radioactive substances also spread over Scandinavia, Central Europe including Poland, and as far south as Greece and Italy. A permanent exclusion zone remains in place around Chernobyl.
Russian Drone Activity
Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded that Russian drones fly over the Chernobyl plant daily during the war against Ukraine, and one struck the protective dome over the fourth reactor last year.
Safeguarding the Site
Following the disaster, a sarcophagus was built to contain the radiation. In 2019, the New Safe Confinement (NSC) was launched to prevent further catastrophes, protecting against radiation emissions.
Zelenskyy’s Appeal
“These two structures protect against the release of radiation and contamination. Maintaining and protecting them is in everyone’s interest. However, Russia’s war is once again pushing the world to the brink of a technological disaster: Russian-Iranian Shaheds constantly fly over the plant, and one of them hit the dome (NSC) last year,” Zelenskyy stated.
He appealed, “The world cannot allow this nuclear terrorism to continue, and the best way to do so is to force Russia to stop these insane attacks.”
A Past Catastrophe
Forty years ago, the world faced one of the largest nuclear disasters when the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, releasing significant amounts of radioactive substances into the environment.
Hundreds of thousands of people have suffered the consequences of this tragedy for years.
