Russia occupied the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster early in its invasion with 1,500 troops and armored vehicles. The ground is heavily contaminated, but despite that, Russian troops have been ordered to dig defensive earthworks, say Ukrainians who have now recaptured the site following Russia’s withdrawal. Watch live updates on the war in Ukraine Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 4:48 Russian troops occupy Chernobyl Read more: Russian troops withdraw from Bukha, leaving civilians dead on the streets “There were a lot of trenches,” Yavneh Kramarenko told Sky News, “and they were digging trenches in many different places. “But I understand that the most dangerous was the red wood which is the most contaminated.” To make matters worse, Ukrainians say the radiation detection equipment they recovered, which was given to Russian soldiers, dates back to the 1950s and did not work. “It is foolish and 100% ridiculous because we know they were not prepared. If they had been given clear instructions, they probably would not have ended up exposed to radiation,” Kramarenko added. When the Chernobyl reactor exploded, radioactive material was dispersed throughout the exclusion zone. Access to the area has been tightly controlled for decades, with vehicles being controlled as they come and go. Read more: All contact with Chernobyl power plant lost, UN nuclear surveillance officials say Follow the Daily Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker However, Ukrainian Chernobyl personnel say they have counted 10,000 Russian vehicles that left Ukraine via Chernobyl in the last five days of the war. They fear that the vehicles could pick up the contaminated soil excavated by the soldiers and transport it to Belarus. It could also have been dispersed to Ukraine earlier in the war. They are also worried about land mines planted by the Russians and a Ukrainian has already been killed by them as well as a number of wild animals. Clearing landmines in radioactively poisoned soil will be a major challenge, they say.
