The Russian forces were successful in capturing the Chernobyl Nuclear power plant. The radioactive site is not just the world’s worst nuclear accident but holds great importance in the fall of the Soviet Union. Read to know why the site is of great importance.
Chernobyl nuclear power plant: An important point in history
Chernobyl, located in the closest route between Belarus to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, is the site of a deadly fire and explosion in 1986. The site of the great tragedy is radioactive to this day. Western military analysts believe that Russia is using the invasion route from Belarus as it is quicker. Back in April 1986, Chernobyl’s fourth reactor exploded, blotching a safety test. The explosion sent up clouds of radiation that blew across Europe and reached the United States. The reactor was located approximately 67 miles from the national capital. This catastrophe also contributed to the Soviet Union’s collapse which followed a few years later.
However, unlike other Ukrainian reactors, this was the only one in an exclusion zone. The other reactors contain highly radioactive nuclear fuel. There is a 2,600 square kilometer exclusion zone with weaker points due to international borders. Experts believe that this is why Chernobyl was Russia’s primary target. “The risks of fighting around them are significantly higher,” stated James Acton. Acton is an expert from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.
What does the nuclear power plant’s capture mean?
The capture of Chernobyl may be the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signal to NATO and the West to stop interfering. According to experts, Russia wants to make sure that nuclear safeguards are present and will not be causing more accidents. The reactor contains cesium, plutonium, and strontium and affected several in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and several parts of Europe. Experts state that while the exact number of direct and indirect deaths vary from low thousands to over 93,000 cancer deaths globally.
“After the senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe,” stated Mykhailo Podolyak. Podolak is a Ukrainian Presidential advisor. Moreover, its capture will also stop Ukrainians from blowing up the damaged reactor in defense. The reactor, despite blowing up in 1986, is radioactive. Blowing it up could stop the Russian military’s fast advance.