‘You know the word Chernobyl’
Ukraine’s fearless leader has warned that conflict at a Ukrainian nuclear plant could spell disaster for Europe, adding: “You know the word ‘Chernobyl’.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had a stellar entertainment career before the presidency, revealed that a training building at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe had caught fire, reports the Independent.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant near the Ukrainian city of Energodar is said to have caught fire, with firefighters initially unable to put the blaze out due to an onslaught of fire from Russian forces. A team of 40 people and 10 units are believed to have now extinguished the fire, reports Sky News.
Ukrainian officials have stated there is a “real threat of nuclear danger”, with foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba adding: “If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chernobyl.”
In a message released early on February 4, Zelensky warned that the incident could threaten all of Europe.
“You know the word Chernobyl,” he said, alluding to the disaster of 1986. Chernobyl was a huge talking point as Russia invaded Ukraine last Thursday, with soldiers having “destroyed” the complex.
It was later confirmed that President Joe Biden from the US had spoken to Zelensky regarding the issue.
@KevinRothrock shared the 2-minute clip to Twitter, where he wrote: “Zelensky issues an urgent new message warning that Russian artillery fire at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant risks a nuclear radiation catastrophe that threatens the entire continent.”
Zelensky issues an urgent new message warning that Russian artillery fire at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant risks a nuclear radiation catastrophe that threatens the entire continent. “You know the word Chernobyl,” he says grimly. pic.twitter.com/j8OjaqdLXH
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 4, 2022
Following an attack last week, Chernobyl radiation was said to be at “excess levels”, despite a state inspector claiming it’s “impossible” to know the reason.
Posting on its Facebook page, the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine (SINR) said: “Data from the automated radiation monitoring system of the exclusion zone, which is available online, indicate that the control levels of gamma radiation dose rate (red dots) have been exceeded at a significant number of observation points.
“But now it is currently impossible to establish the reasons for the change in the radiation background in the exclusion zone because of the occupation and military fight in this territory.”
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