Russian forces have already targeted the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl, where a nuclear accident in April 1986 caused a cloud of radioactivity to spread across Europe. Troops accidentally cut off power to a Chernobyl facility that still stores radioactive waste, raising concerns that it could leak and cause widespread radioactive contamination. “Ukraine is one of the largest producers of nuclear energy in Europe and if an accident like the one at Chernobyl happens, we will all be affected, in the rest of Europe, if the wind blows in that direction,” Enoksen said. “What we said was, ‘Be ready.’ Not for a nuclear attack, but for radioactive wind and rain. “When the Chernobyl accident happened, we saw it for years because the wind was coming towards the pole. “You saw the accidents with the attack in Ukraine. It is not because we are afraid of nuclear war. [Radiation] is our highest risk. “ The invasion of Ukraine is described by defense sources as a “threshold” for other states bordering Russia, which are increasingly concerned about protecting the polar ice caps and maintaining access to ships under international law.
