Lyudmila Denisova, Ukraine’s Verhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, said the fires had led to rising levels of radioactive air pollution and a threat to neighboring European countries. He attributed the fires to the Russian battle in the region, 31 fires have been recorded, as he called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send firefighters and equipment to help deal with them. Ms Denisova warned that winds and dry weather would exacerbate the fires. “The control and suppression of the fires is impossible due to the occupation of the blockade zone by the Russian troops. As a result of combustion, radionuclides are released into the atmosphere, which are carried by the wind over long distances. “This threatens radiation in Ukraine, Belarus and European countries,” Ms Denisova said in a Facebook post on Sunday. Watch live updates on the war in Ukraine This photo, taken on April 12, 2020, shows a forest fire burning in a 30-kilometer (19-mile) Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine, not far from the nuclear power plant. (AFP via Getty Images) He warned that failure to intervene could have “irreparable consequences not only for Ukraine but for the whole world”. “The catastrophic consequences can only be avoided by the immediate recapture of the territory by Russian troops. “Therefore, I call on international human rights organizations to take all possible measures to increase pressure on the Russian Federation to end its military offensive against Ukraine and to establish high-risk areas,” said Denisova. The abandoned area around the Chernobyl plant is still considered extremely dangerous due to radiation from the 1986 nuclear disaster. Potential hazards still exist in the plant area itself as radioactive components have been present since the time of the disaster. Also, the ground still contains radiation and particles are still present in the atmosphere of Chernobyl from the time of the accident. This can spread to other areas through smoke when fires break out. This map shows the extent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Pictures) Local doctors and health experts had warned that the threat of radiation in the area around Chernobyl was still very real and visible in children born with weak immune systems and heart arrhythmias. Chernobyl was occupied by Russian troops four weeks ago and there has been a shortage of food and fuel ever since. According to information, the personnel of the besieged power station are forced to work under the threat of weapons by Russian soldiers. One week ago, the IAEA was informed that the Russian army had detonated unexploded ordnance at Europe’s largest nuclear plant, raising fears of radioactive leakage. However, the IAEA confirmed that while the training facility was damaged on March 4, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said that “all the safety systems of the six reactors at the plant were not affected at all.” The IAEA, citing the United Nations, warned that the site’s 211 technical staff and guards were working “under tremendous stress without the necessary rest”. Slavutych, a city of 20,000 just outside the siege zone, was attacked by Russian forces crossing the border with Belarus on the first day of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The city is located on a direct route from Belarus to Kyiv, being a major route of invasion by Russian forces from the north.
