{"id":434465,"date":"2022-04-20T09:34:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T06:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/russias-chernobyl-seizure-seen-as-nuclear-risk-nightmare\/"},"modified":"2022-04-20T09:34:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-20T06:34:00","slug":"russias-chernobyl-seizure-seen-as-nuclear-risk-nightmare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/russias-chernobyl-seizure-seen-as-nuclear-risk-nightmare\/","title":{"rendered":"#: Russia\u2019s Chernobyl seizure seen as nuclear risk \u2018nightmare\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dcc24d312e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dcc24d312e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/russias-chernobyl-seizure-seen-as-nuclear-risk-nightmare\/#%E2%80%9C_Russias_Chernobyl_seizure_seen_as_nuclear_risk_%E2%80%98nightmare%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;: Russia\u2019s Chernobyl seizure seen as nuclear risk \u2018nightmare\u2019&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9C_Russias_Chernobyl_seizure_seen_as_nuclear_risk_%E2%80%98nightmare%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;: Russia\u2019s Chernobyl seizure seen as nuclear risk \u2018nightmare\u2019&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\">\n<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\" data-nosnippet>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000795906\" role=\"document\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"\n                inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetArticleReader\n              \n              inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetArticleReader\n              article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-object-article-reader\">\n<div class=\"audioplayer\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000795906\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Listen to Article\" tabindex=\"-1\" id=\"articlereader\" data-show-title=\"false\" data-theme=\"wsj-article-reader\" data-show-header=\"false\" data-show-subscribe=\"false\" data-ads-enabled=\"true\" data-save-publication=\"false\">\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP) \u2014 Here in the dirt of one of the world\u2019s most radioactive places, Russian soldiers dug trenches. Ukrainian officials worry they were, in effect, digging their own graves.<\/p>\n<p> Thousands of tanks and troops rumbled into the forested Chernobyl exclusion zone in the earliest hours of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in February, churning up highly contaminated soil from the site of the 1986 accident that was the world\u2019s worst nuclear disaster.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       For more than a month, some Russian soldiers bunked in the earth within sight of the massive structure built to contain radiation from the damaged Chernobyl nuclear reactor. A close inspection of their trenches was impossible because even walking on the dirt is discouraged.<\/p>\n<p>As the 36th anniversary of the April 26, 1986, disaster <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roaches and Russia\u2019s invasion continues, it\u2019s clear that Chernobyl \u2014 a relic of the Cold War \u2014 was never prepared for this.<\/p>\n<p>With scientists and others watching in disbelief from afar, Russian forces flew over the long-closed plant, ignoring the restricted airspace around it. They held personnel still working at the plant at gunpoint during a marathon shift of more than a month, with employees sleeping on tabletops and eating just twice a day.<\/p>\n<p>Even now, weeks after the Russians left, \u201cI need to calm down,\u201d the plant\u2019s main security engineer, Valerii Semenov, told The Associated Press. He worked 35 days straight, sleeping only three hours a night, rationing cigarettes and staying on even after the Russians allowed a shift change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was afraid they would install something and damage the system,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>Workers kept the Russians from the most dangerous areas, but in what Semenov called the worst situation he has seen in his 30 years at Chernobyl, the plant was without electricity, relying on diesel generators to support the critical work of circulating water for cooling the spent fuel rods.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was very dangerous to act in this way,\u201d said Maksym Shevchuck, the deputy head of the state agency managing the exclusion zone. He was scared by it all.<\/p>\n<p>Russia\u2019s invasion marks the first time that occupying a nuclear plant was part of a nation\u2019s war strategy, said Rebecca Harms, former president of the Greens group in the European Parliament, who has visited Chernobyl several times. She called it a \u201cnightmare\u201d scenario in which \u201cevery nuclear plant can be used like a pre-installed nuclear bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>A visit to the exclusion zone, more desolate than usual, found that the invasion risked a catastrophe worse than the original explosion and fire at Chernobyl that sent radioactive material into the atmosphere and became a symbol of the Soviet Union\u2019s stumbling final years. Billions of dollars were spent by the international community, including Russia, to stabilize and secure the area.<\/p>\n<p>Now authorities are working with Ukraine\u2019s defense ministry on ways to protect Chernobyl\u2019s most critical places. At the top of the list are anti-drone systems and anti-tank barriers, along with a system to protect against warplanes and helicopters.<\/p>\n<p>None of it will matter much if Russian President Vladimir Putin resorts to nuclear weapons, which Shevchuck says he can\u2019t rule out anymore.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand they can use any kind of weapon and they can do any awful thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Chernobyl needs special international protection with a robust U.N. mandate, Harms said. As with the original disaster, the risks are not only to Ukraine but to nearby Belarus and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt depends from where the wind blows,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>After watching thousands of Soviet soldiers work to contain the effects of the 1986 accident, sometimes with no protection, Harms and others were shocked at the Russian soldiers\u2019 disregard for safety, or their ignorance, in the recent invasion.<\/p>\n<p>Some soldiers even stole highly radioactive materials as souvenirs or possibly to sell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think from <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">movies<\/a> they have the imagination that all dangerous small things are very valuable,\u201d Shevchuck said.<\/p>\n<p>He believes hundreds or thousands of soldiers damaged their health, likely with little idea of the consequences, despite plant workers\u2019 warnings to their commanders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of the soldiers were around 20 years old,\u201d he said. \u201cAll these actions proves that their management, and in Russia in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>, human life equals like zero.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The full extent of Russia\u2019s activities in the Chernobyl exclusion zone is still unknown, especially because the troops scattered mines that the Ukrainian military is still searching for. Some have detonated, further disturbing the radioactive ground. The Russians also set several forest fires, which have been put out.<\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian authorities can\u2019t monitor radiation levels across the zone because Russian soldiers stole the main server for the system, severing the connection on March 2. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Saturday it still wasn\u2019t receiving remote data from its monitoring systems. The Russians even took Chernobyl staffers\u2019 personal radiation monitors.<\/p>\n<p>In the communications center, one of the buildings in the zone not overgrown by nature, the Russians looted and left a carpet of shattered glass. The building felt deeply of the 1980s, with a map on a wall still showing the Soviet Union. Someone at some point had taken a pink marker and traced Ukraine\u2019s border.<\/p>\n<p>In normal times, about 6,000 people work in the zone, about half of them at the nuclear plant. When the Russians invaded, most workers were told to evacuate im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely. Now about 100 are left at the nuclear plant and 100 are elsewhere.<br \/>Semenov, the security engineer, recalled the Russians checking the remaining workers for what they called radicals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe said, \u2018Look at our documents, 90% of us are originally from Russia,&#8217;\u201d he said. \u201cBut we\u2019re patriots of our country,\u201d meaning Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>When the Russians hurriedly departed March 31 as part of a withdrawal from the region that left behind scorched tanks and traumatized communities, they took more than 150 Ukrainian national guard members into Belarus. Shevchuck fears they\u2019re now in Russia.<\/p>\n<p>In their rush, the Russians gave nuclear plant managers a choice: Sign a document saying the soldiers had protected the site and there were no complaints, or be taken into Belarus. The managers signed.<\/p>\n<p>One protective measure the Russians did appear to take was leaving open a line routing communications from the nuclear plant through the workers\u2019 town of Slavutych and on to authorities in Ukraine\u2019s capital, Kyiv. It was used several times, Shevchuck said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think they understood it should be for their safety,\u201d he said. The IAEA said Tuesday the plant is now able to contact Ukraine\u2019s nuclear regulator directly.<\/p>\n<p>Another Ukrainian nuclear plant, at Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine, remains under Russian control. It is the largest in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>Shevchuck, like other Ukrainians, has had it with Putin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re inviting him inside the new safe confinement shelter,\u201d he said. \u201cThen we will close it.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7C25-02D802F1C4C9%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;: Russia\u2019s Chernobyl seizure seen as nuclear risk \u2018nightmare\u2019&#8221; CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (AP) \u2014 Here in the dirt of one of the world\u2019s most radioactive places, Russian soldiers dug trenches. Ukrainian officials worry they were, in effect, digging their own graves. Thousands of tanks and troops rumbled into the forested Chernobyl exclusion zone in the earliest&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":434466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-527691\/social","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-434465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}