Comment CHERNOBYL, Ukraine — At home in Kyiv, Yaroslav Yemelianenko it was stuck a secret live stream of the gateway to Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. In disbelief, he watched the Russian tanks roll by the yellow information booth advertising his company, Chernobyl Tour, and drove south toward the capital. Hours had passed since the first day of the war, February 24th. Publicly, Ukrainian leaders said Russian troops had not yet crossed over there. Elsewhere in Kyiv, Chernobyl guide coordinator Kateryna Aslamova watched the same scene unfold in shock. “It was confusing and it was scary,” she said. “It was different from what the authorities were saying.” Road to war: US struggles to convince allies and Zelensky about invasion risk The Chernobyl Tour had a small battery-operated camera perched next to the checkpoint in the zone that Yemelianenko and Aslamova could access remotely. He was there to watch their stand. But on the day of the invasion, they said, he provided the first information about the movement of Russian troops through Belarus and beyond Chernobyl as Moscow began its bid to seize Kyiv. “The first thing the Russians did when they passed the Chernobyl checkpoint was to take out the Ukrainian flag and turn off all the cameras,” Aslamova said. But they missed the small camera on the booth, which kept rolling. So tour operators started counting the number and type of military vehicles. One hundred. Five hundred. He kept going. Yemelianenko said he passed this information on to contacts in Ukraine’s military and intelligence services. The Kyiv-based tour guides also contacted the company’s network of workers in villages around Chernobyl that were coming under Russian occupation. Within a day, the Chernobyl Tour had turned into a kind of Ukrainian whistleblower network monitoring the movements of Russian troops. Its employees were part of something that became key to Ukraine’s resilience: the willingness of everyday people to take the defense of their nation into their own hands. “We had a responsibility,” Yemelianenko said. At Chernobyl’s sensitive nuclear labs, the Russians ransacked security systems It is impossible to know how much impact individual actions had on the wider trajectory of the war. After nearly six months of fighting, however, the power of individual citizens and businesses has clearly become central to Ukraine’s wartime strategy and mentality. By the end of the first day of the war, Russian forces had occupied Chernobyl. For five weeks they held this strategic area, about a two-hour drive from Kyiv in normal times, in their failed campaign to capture the Ukrainian capital. For the same five weeks, the Ukrainians also resisted in secret. Chernobyl Tour provided the Washington Post with surveillance footage and reports of Russian troops crossing from Belarus. The group said it chose to share its story only when it could ensure the safety of all workers. The Security Service and Armed Forces of Ukraine did not respond to a request for comment on any assistance received from the tour group. The Russian takeover of the installed Chernobyl nuclear reactor site – where Soviet authorities initially tried to cover up the 1986 explosion with disastrous results – did not lead to the massive release of radioactivity that many had feared. But after nearly six months under Russian control, risks are rising in southeastern Ukraine at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, Europe’s largest. The security situation there is rapidly deteriorating amid growing concerns of a possible nuclear fallout. As in Chernobyl, workers at the Zaporizhia plant take serious risks to hide critical information. Inside Ukraine’s nuclear plant, explosions and constant fear Before the war, the Chernobyl Tour took visitors into the “exclusion zone,” a 1,000-square-mile area where radioactive contamination is at its highest. Visitors would see the reactor site, the town the Soviets built to house workers, and the natural habitats that have since flourished in the isolated area. During the 25 days of Russian occupation of the Chernobyl plant, nine workers were killed and five were kidnapped. The Russians also stole hundreds of computers, radiation dosimeters, firefighting equipment and irreplaceable software. Chernobyl Tours said it could not provide certain details about the group’s work due to its sensitive nature. They also, they said, deleted almost all communication in the first weeks of the war to protect sources, especially in case Russian forces seized Kyiv. Videos and Telegram exchanges preserved by the group, which were shared with The Post, appear to corroborate their account. On February 24, it started quietly near the tour company’s camera at the Chernobyl booth, Aslamova said. In the video feed, he could see Ukrainian soldiers walking around. One fed a dog. Suddenly they retreated away from the border. It was quiet again. Then a column of military vehicles bearing the letter V – one of the letters that identify Russian troops – began to pour out, Aslamova said. After two days, the flow of military vehicles slowed. A few days later, the camera stopped. Yemelianenko couldn’t say exactly when, but said he either ran out of batteries or was knocked out by the Russians. By then, the Russians had shut down Internet services and phone lines. It was almost impossible to get information in and out. But Chernobyl Tour officials tried anyway. Until the invasion, local company employees based in the surrounding villages provided logistical support to the tourists. They then stayed and gathered information about their attackers. Local staff at the group declined to speak to The Post, citing privacy and security concerns. However, some saved Telegram screenshots shared by Chernobyl Tour capture what happened next. Ukraine fears disaster as Russia targets nuclear power plants For several harrowing weeks, about 10 employees, along with trusted family members and neighbors, secretly recorded the number, location and direction of Russian military vehicles and supplies, Yemelianenko said. “Eight light jeeps,” reads a partial list from a Telegram message. “Four Gasoline Trucks.” At great risk, villagers headed to fields and forests in search of cell phone service to send their notes back to Kyiv. In the capital, Yemelianenko said, he and his team shared the information with intelligence contacts. They also tried to send information about the war back to the villages to counter Russian propaganda and lobbied for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate Chernobyl civilians. However, Chernobyl Tours did its own disinformation campaign. Yemelianenko, who also joined the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine, launched what he called a “special intelligence operation.” He tried to scare Russians into leaving Chernobyl by telling the media that soldiers sleeping in trenches or looting artifacts from nearby villages were being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. “To be honest, this was a huge exaggeration,” Yemelianenko said. “The goal was to make the Russians worry … that they were all going to die.” Yemelianenko had grown up amid fears about Chernobyl. His family evacuated Kyiv immediately after the collapse of 1986. Years later, he became interested in learning more about Chernobyl and, after extensive research, co-founded his own tour company. Part of the group’s message is that Ukraine’s successful cleanup of the area is something to celebrate. To this, he said, he would now add the Chernobyl project against an invading army. “Chernobyl is not only a place of tragedy,” Yemelianenko said. “It’s also a part of our victory.”
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The last: Grain shipments from Ukraine are being accelerated under the agreement reached by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations in July. Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports had sent food prices soaring and sparked fears of more famine in the Middle East and Africa. At least 18 ships, including cargoes of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, have departed. The battle: The conflict on the ground continues as Russia uses its heavy artillery advantage to pound Ukrainian forces, which have at times managed to put up stiff resistance. In the south, Ukraine’s hopes rest on liberating the Russian-held region of Kherson, and eventually Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014. Fears of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant persist as both sides accuse each other of they bomb. The weapons: Western arms supplies are helping Ukraine slow Russian advances. US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS) allow Ukrainian forces to strike further behind Russian lines against Russian artillery. Russia has used a range of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts. Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground since the start of the war — here are some of their strongest works. How you can help: Here are ways those in the US can help support the Ukrainian people, as well as the donations people have made around the world. Read his full coverage Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video.
