The SBU collected evidence of Russian nuclear terrorism in the exclusion zone
The Security Service of Ukraine has collected indisputable evidence that the units of the invaders, which forcibly seized the facilities of the Chernobyl NPP and controlled them in the period from February 24 to March 31, 2022, committed an act of nuclear terrorism.
Although the reactors are decommissioned, the facility remains a huge complex with three spent nuclear fuel storage facilities and a number of radioactive waste sites.
By turning the Chernobyl nuclear power plant into its temporary military base, the Russian Federation flagrantly violated the Geneva Convention, which expressly forbids attacks on nuclear facilities in conditions of armed conflict.
The invaders also violated nuclear safety standards:
- They damaged the premises and mined the territory;
- Made regular external monitoring of radiation and continuous supply of spare parts, fuel and consumables impossible;
- Kept staff in stressful conditions, increasing the likelihood of professional mistakes.
The below video is in Ukrainian, however contains some footage of the orcs when they entered the ChNPP:
The SBU has documentary evidence that:
- during the occupation, a large amount of heavy military equipment, weapons and more than 1,000 soldiers were constantly located in the territory of the exclusion zone;
- 330 military personnel were stationed directly on the territory of radiation-hazardous facilities and the storage facility (interim storage of spent nuclear fuel of the “dry” type);
- the occupiers equipped 5 fire points on the territory of the storage facility, where work is carried out with spent materials of plutonium-239 reactors;
- the territory of the exclusion zone was mined: more than 100 mines and 3 explosions were discovered;
- at the beginning of March, the occupiers damaged the communication towers, which caused the radiation situation monitoring system to fail;
- On March 9, the enterprise was almost completely cut off, which practically paralyzed the operation of all control and security systems. In particular, the spent nuclear fuel cooling system was turned off;
- as a result of hostilities and deliberate arson, according to the NASA and European Space Agency systems, significant fires on an area of almost 14,000 hectares were recorded in the territory of the exclusion zone during the occupation troops’ stay there. The situation was complicated by the inability of firefighters to extinguish them;
- the occupiers looted enterprises of the exclusion zone, in particular, a fleet of specialized equipment and fuel. This jeopardized fire and radiation safety in the exclusion zone;
- the unique “Ecocenter” laboratory, the equipment of which was financed by the European Commission for 6 million euros, was looted and actually destroyed. The equipment purchased with the funds of Fukushima University as part of the implementation of the Japanese-Ukrainian project under the “SATREPS” program was also stolen. During the occupation, the physical protection system at the Chernobyl NPP was disabled and a mobile radiation intelligence laboratory worth 2.5 million hryvnias was stolen;
- 21 sources of ionizing radiation with a total activity of almost 7 million Bq were stolen. This is enough to make an area of almost 2,000 square meters unsafe for people to live in. m.;
- the occupiers were carrying out earthworks on the territory of the temporary radioactive waste containment facility “Rudy lis”.
The territory of the exclusion zone has not yet been demined. This violates the integrity of the facility’s radiation safety system, which Ukraine has been building together with international partners for decades. The probability of uncontrolled explosions and fires caused by them is still too high.
The Security Service of Ukraine, systematically recording and investigating the crimes of the occupiers, has already informed about the suspicion of the invader who gave the order to storm the ChNPP power plant – this is the former deputy commander of the Siberian District of the Russian Guard, Major General O. Yakushev.
Colonel A. Frolenkov, the deputy commander of the joint special unit of the Russian Guard in the Bryansk region, who directly supervised the actions of his subordinates during the attack on this object, was also informed of the suspicion.
An investigation is ongoing to identify and bring to justice all persons involved in nuclear terrorism.
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