A hundred technicians work under armed guard to maintain the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine, taken hostage for the last three weeks by Russian forces who seized the enclosure in the first hours of the invasion.
Tired and malnourished, they were working at night when Russia seized the site of the 1986 core meltdown that triggered the world’s worst nuclear disaster in history.
Relatives and colleagues contacted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) claim that the crew members were unable to return to their homes in near Slavutych, the city built for house Chernobyl workers after the disaster.
“Physically and morally they are exhausted,” said the wife of one technician, who like others on the site may communicate with the outside world only via Telephone.
“They think not one cares about them, neither the Russian government nor the Ukrainian government”, she said, adding that they only get two small meals per day.
“They can take a shower, but with no soap, no shampoo, they can’t brush their teeth. They cannot change their clothes or wash them. There is no supply of medications. They sleep on the floor, on certain offices or on chairs.”
About 100 other people including security personnel are also be held on site.
It is not known why Russian soldiers took over Chernobyl, where destroyed reactor is kept under close surveillance in a concrete enclosure and lead sarcophagus, and the three other reactors are being dismantled.
In 2017, the site was one of several Ukrainian targets hit by a massive cyberattack whose on think she is the origin in Russia, which briefly took its radiological monitoring system off-line.
On Sunday, several dozen of peopleincluding women and children organized a demonstration in Slavutitch over the treatment of personnel at the factory and the potential safety risks.
Chernobyl’s electricity supply was interrupted on several times since the Russian takeover.
“Our boys are not just hostages but prisoners in a Russian concentration camp”, one woman at the protest told local television.
the head of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday that Chernobyl technicians and guards were being forced to work “under enormous stress without the necessary rest.”
For ensure against radioactive risks,operating the personnel must be able to fulfill their safety and security functions and have the ability to do decisions free of excessive pressure,” he warned.
A Chernobyl engineer told AFP that employees are “deeply worried about being on on the front line in the event of an accident.”
the pool where the spent fuel is stored is “overpackaged by 40%” it addedand “backup pools should be empty but they are also completed with other spent fuels. This situation is against international nuclear safety regulations.”
Contacted by AFP, officials from the Ukrainian Atomic Energy Agency were not available to comment on the revendications.
Russian forces also bombarded and captured the atomic Zaporizhzhia power factory, the largest in Europe, on March 4, causing a fire who sounded the alarm in Europe over a possible nuclear catastrophe.
Karine Herviou, assistant director-general IRSN’s French nuclear safety watchdog, said, “there is no risk of an explosion at the site.”
“Unlike nuclear power plants which are in operation, loss suffered of the electrical supply to the site will not be cause an accident,” she said.
But the risks of war remain, with the parent of one technician saying that Russia has indeed built “a military base” in Chernobyl complete with missile launch batteries.
“The strategy is brilliant on the sidemais war for humanity it’s completely crazy – no one will fire a missile on Chernobyl to destroy”The Russian forces,” said the parenthimself former employee on the site.
He said the odds of a catastrophe were high, in particular because of alleged safety violations committed by the Ukrainian authorities – which he claims to have seen first-main – and because the soldiers keep employees “do know what is happening on.”
“In nuclear safety, you always try to plan for the worst-case scenario and try to avoid this. Right now they’re trying to hide it, like the USSR did in 1986,” said the parent.
A hundred technicians work under armed guard to maintain the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine, taken hostage for the last three weeks by Russian forces who seized the enclosure in the first hours of the invasion.
Tired and malnourished, they were working at night when Russia seized the site of the 1986 core meltdown that triggered the world’s worst nuclear disaster in history.
Relatives and colleagues contacted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) claim that the crew members were unable to return to their homes in near Slavutych, the city built for house Chernobyl workers after the disaster.
“Physically and morally they are exhausted,” said the wife of one technician, who like others on the site may communicate with the outside world only via Telephone.
“They think not one cares about them, neither the Russian government nor the Ukrainian government”, she said, adding that they only get two small meals per day.
“They can take a shower, but with no soap, no shampoo, they can’t brush their teeth. They cannot change their clothes or wash them. There is no supply of medications. They sleep on the floor, on certain offices or on chairs.”
About 100 other people including security personnel are also be held on site.
It is not known why Russian soldiers took over Chernobyl, where destroyed reactor is kept under close surveillance in a concrete enclosure and lead sarcophagus, and the three other reactors are being dismantled.
In 2017, the site was one of several Ukrainian targets hit by a massive cyberattack whose on think she is the origin in Russia, which briefly took its radiological monitoring system off-line.
On Sunday, several dozen of peopleincluding women and children organized a demonstration in Slavutitch over the treatment of personnel at the factory and the potential safety risks.
Chernobyl’s electricity supply was interrupted on several times since the Russian takeover.
“Our boys are not just hostages but prisoners in a Russian concentration camp”, one woman at the protest told local television.
the head of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday that Chernobyl technicians and guards were being forced to work “under enormous stress without the necessary rest.”
For ensure against radioactive risks,operating the personnel must be able to fulfill their safety and security functions and have the ability to do decisions free of excessive pressure,” he warned.
A Chernobyl engineer told AFP that employees are “deeply worried about being on on the front line in the event of an accident.”
the pool where the spent fuel is stored is “overpackaged by 40%” it addedand “backup pools should be empty but they are also completed with other spent fuels. This situation is against international nuclear safety regulations.”
Contacted by AFP, officials from the Ukrainian Atomic Energy Agency were not available to comment on the revendications.
Russian forces also bombarded and captured the atomic Zaporizhzhia power factory, the largest in Europe, on March 4, causing a fire who sounded the alarm in Europe over a possible nuclear catastrophe.
Karine Herviou, assistant director-general IRSN’s French nuclear safety watchdog, said, “there is no risk of an explosion at the site.”
“Unlike nuclear power plants which are in operation, loss suffered of the electrical supply to the site will not be cause an accident,” she said.
But the risks of war remain, with the parent of one technician saying that Russia has indeed built “a military base” in Chernobyl complete with missile launch batteries.
“The strategy is brilliant on the sidemais war for humanity it’s completely crazy – no one will fire a missile on Chernobyl to destroy”The Russian forces,” said the parenthimself former employee on the site.
He said the odds of a catastrophe were high, in particular because of alleged safety violations committed by the Ukrainian authorities – which he claims to have seen first-main – and because the soldiers keep employees “do know what is happening on.”
“In nuclear safety, you always try to plan for the worst-case scenario and try to avoid this. Right now they’re trying to hide it, like the USSR did in 1986,” said the parent.