Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Ukraine: Russians Leaving Chernobyl After Radiation Exposure
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
March 31, 2022

Share

 

Russian troops began leaving the Chernobyl nuclear plant after soldiers got “significant doses” of radiation from digging trenches at the highly contaminated site, Ukraine’s state power company said Thursday as fighting raged on the outskirts of Kyiv and other fronts.

Energoatom gave no details on the condition of the troops or how many were affected. But it said the Russians had dug in in the forest inside the exclusion zone around the now-closed plant, the site in 1986 of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

The troops “panicked at the first sign of illness,” which “showed up very quickly,” and began preparing to leave, Energoatom said.

Nuclear Site Seized Early in Invasion

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin, and the International Atomic Energy Agency said it had not been able to confirm reports of Russian troops receiving high doses. It said it was seeking more information.

Russian forces seized the Chernobyl site in the opening stages of the Feb. 24 invasion, raising fears that they would cause damage or disruption that could spread radiation. The workforce at the site oversees the safe storage of spent fuel rods and the concrete-entombed ruins of the exploded reactor.

Edwin Lyman, a nuclear expert with the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists, said it “seems unlikely” a large number of troops would develop severe radiation illness, but it was impossible to know for sure without more details.

He said contaminated material was probably buried or covered with new topsoil during the cleanup of Chernobyl, and some soldiers may have been exposed to a “hot spot” of radiation while digging. Others may have assumed they were at risk too, he said.

The reported pullout came amid indications the Kremlin is using talk of de-escalation as cover while regrouping and resupplying its forces and redeploying them for a stepped-up offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Efforts to Evacuate Mariupol

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is seeing “a buildup of Russian forces for new strikes on the Donbas, and we are preparing for that.”

Meanwhile, a convoy of buses headed to Mariupol in another bid to evacuate people from the besieged port city after the Russian military agreed to a limited cease-fire in the area. And a new round of talks aimed at stopping the fighting was scheduled for Friday.

The Red Cross said its teams were headed for Mariupol with medical supplies and other relief and hoped to take civilians out of the beleaguered city.

Tens of thousands have managed to get out of Mariupol in the past few weeks by way of humanitarian corridors, reducing its population from a prewar 430,000 to an estimated 100,000 as of last week, but other efforts to relieve the city have been thwarted by continued Russian attacks.

Early this week, the Russians said they would significantly scale back operations in areas around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv to increase trust between the two sides and help negotiations along.

But in the Kyiv suburbs, regional governor Oleksandr Palviuk said on social media that Russian forces shelled Irpin and Makariv and that there were battles around Hostomel. Pavliuk said there were Ukrainian counterattacks and some Russian withdrawals around the suburb of Brovary to the east.

Chernihiv also came under attack. At least one person was killed and four others were wounded in the Russian shelling of a humanitarian convoy of buses sent to Chernihiv to evacuate residents cut off from food, water and other supplies, said Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Lyudmyla Denisova

Artillery Barrages Around Kharkiv

Ukraine also reported Russian artillery barrages in and around the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

Despite the fighting, Russia said it committed to a cease-fire along the route from Mariupol to the Ukraine-held city of Zaporizhzhia.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 45 buses would be sent to collect civilians who have suffered some of the worst privations of the war.

Food, water and medical supplies have all run low during a weekslong blockade and bombardment of the city. Civilians who have managed to leave have typically done so using private cars, but the number of drivable vehicles left in the city has dwindled and fuel is low.

“It’s desperately important that this operation takes place,” the Red Cross said in a statement. “The lives of tens of thousands of people in Mariupol depend on it.”

Talks between Ukraine and Russia were set to resume Friday by video, according to the head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia, fix weeks into a war that has seen thousands die and a staggering 4 million Ukrainians flee the country.

But there seemed little faith that the two sides would resolve the conflict any time soon, particularly after the Russian attacks in zones where it had offered to scale back.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that conditions weren’t yet “ripe” for a cease-fire and that he wasn’t ready for a meeting with Zelenskyy until negotiators do more work, Italian Premier Mario Draghi said after a telephone conversation with the Russian leader.

Russia ‘Repeatedly Lied’ About Intentions

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said alliance intelligence indicates Russia is not scaling back its military operations in Ukraine but is instead trying to regroup, resupply its forces and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas.

“Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions,” Stoltenberg said. At the same time, he said, pressure is being kept up on Kyiv and other cities, and “we can expect additional offensive actions bringing even more suffering.”

The Donbas is the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial region where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014. In the past few days, the Kremlin, in a seeming shift in its war aims, said that its “main goal” now is gaining control of the Donbas, which consists of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including Mariupol.

The top rebel leader in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, issued an order to set up a rival city government for Mariupol, according to Russian state news agencies, in a sign of Russian intent to hold and administer the city.

Also, Ukraine’s emergency services said the death toll had risen to 20 in a Russian missile strike Tuesday on a government administration building in the southern city of Mykolaiv.

As Western officials search for clues about what Russia’s next move might be, a top British intelligence official said demoralized Russian soldiers in Ukraine are refusing to carry out orders and sabotaging their equipment and had accidentally shot down their own aircraft.

In a speech in Australia, Jeremy Fleming, head of the GCHQ electronic spy agency, said Putin had apparently “massively misjudged” the invasion.

U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about how badly the war is going because they are afraid to tell him the truth.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the U.S. is wrong and that “neither the State Department nor the Pentagon possesses the real information about what is happening in the Kremlin.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

CA Needs More Water Storage to Handle Boom-or-Bust Cycles

DON'T MISS

Dodgers’ Deferred Payments Top $1 Billion to 7 Players, Including Snell and Edman

DON'T MISS

Feds Close ‘Rape Club’ Women’s Prison in California

DON'T MISS

California Will Appeal Rejection of Lawsuit Over Huntington Beach Voter ID Law

DON'T MISS

The NWS Cancels Tsunami Warning for the US West Coast After 7.0 Earthquake

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Is Fresno’s Project Labor Agreement Meeting Local Hiring Goals?

DON'T MISS

‘Embarrassing’: The Lakers Have Lost Their Last 2 Games by a Combined 70 Points

DON'T MISS

LPGA, USGA Require Players to Be Assigned Female at Birth or Transition Before Male Puberty

DON'T MISS

SEC and Big Ten Powers Lead on Signing Day as Prospects Finalize College Selections

DON'T MISS

RFK Jr Asks Fresno Raw Milk Dairyman to Apply for FDA Advisory Role

UP NEXT

Amnesty International Accuses Israel of Genocide in Gaza War

UP NEXT

A Major Power Plant Fails in Cuba, Plunging the Island Into Darkness — Again

UP NEXT

Israel’s Military Says Hostages Were Likely Killed by Hamas as Airstrike Hit

UP NEXT

South Korean President Backs Down From Martial Law Order

UP NEXT

So Much for Trump’s Fantasy of a Quieter Middle East

UP NEXT

France’s Government Looks on the Brink of Collapse. What’s Next?

UP NEXT

Middle East Latest: Israeli Minister Warns of Wider Strikes on Lebanon if Ceasefire Collapses

UP NEXT

South Korean President Declares Martial Law and Accuses Opposition of ‘Anti-State’ Activity

UP NEXT

Russia’s Economy Is Slowing, Opening Fissures Over Policy

UP NEXT

Hezbollah Fires at an Israeli-Held Border Zone, the Group’s First Strike Since a Ceasefire Began

California Will Appeal Rejection of Lawsuit Over Huntington Beach Voter ID Law

1 hour ago

The NWS Cancels Tsunami Warning for the US West Coast After 7.0 Earthquake

1 hour ago

Wired Wednesday: Is Fresno’s Project Labor Agreement Meeting Local Hiring Goals?

2 hours ago

‘Embarrassing’: The Lakers Have Lost Their Last 2 Games by a Combined 70 Points

2 hours ago

LPGA, USGA Require Players to Be Assigned Female at Birth or Transition Before Male Puberty

2 hours ago

SEC and Big Ten Powers Lead on Signing Day as Prospects Finalize College Selections

2 hours ago

RFK Jr Asks Fresno Raw Milk Dairyman to Apply for FDA Advisory Role

3 hours ago

Mexico President Will Ask Trump to Deport Non-Mexican Migrants Directly to Their Home Countries

3 hours ago

GivingTuesday Estimates $3.6B Was Donated This Year, an Increase From 2023

3 hours ago

Earthquake Strikes off California; Tsunami Warning Issued

3 hours ago

CA Needs More Water Storage to Handle Boom-or-Bust Cycles

Each December there’s a new version of an old guessing game about how much water will be provided to agricultural and municipal users in the...

13 minutes ago

13 minutes ago

CA Needs More Water Storage to Handle Boom-or-Bust Cycles

1 hour ago

Dodgers’ Deferred Payments Top $1 Billion to 7 Players, Including Snell and Edman

1 hour ago

Feds Close ‘Rape Club’ Women’s Prison in California

Photo of voting booths
1 hour ago

California Will Appeal Rejection of Lawsuit Over Huntington Beach Voter ID Law

People watch the waves come in after an earthquake was felt widely across Northern California at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
1 hour ago

The NWS Cancels Tsunami Warning for the US West Coast After 7.0 Earthquake

Wired Wednesday Cover 12/04/24. (KMPH Screengrab)
2 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Is Fresno’s Project Labor Agreement Meeting Local Hiring Goals?

2 hours ago

‘Embarrassing’: The Lakers Have Lost Their Last 2 Games by a Combined 70 Points

2 hours ago

LPGA, USGA Require Players to Be Assigned Female at Birth or Transition Before Male Puberty

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend