After being forced to work at gunpoint by Russian forces for over three weeks, all staff members at the Chernobyl nuclear facility in Ukraine who wanted to leave were allowed to on Monday, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Ukraine’s energy regulator informed the IAEA that the rotation of the 211 staff members being held hostage at the Chernobyl plant was completed on Monday. The long-delayed complete rotation comes after 64 employees were allowed to leave the plant on Sunday for the first time since Russian forces took control of the facility on Feb. 24.
“Ukraine’s regulatory authority said about half of the outgoing shift of technical staff left the site of the 1986 accident yesterday and the rest followed today, with the exception of thirteen staff members who declined to rotate,” the IAEA said in a statement. “Most Ukrainian guards also remained at the site.”
The beleaguered Chernobyl staff members are being replaced by colleagues from the nearby city of Slavutych, and the new staff will include two supervisors “to ensure that there is back-up available,” the IAEA said.
UKRAINE ESTABLISHES RELIABLE ELECTRICITY SOURCE AFTER UNPLUGGING FROM RUSSIA
An agreement has also been reached between Russian forces and Ukraine’s energy regulator on how to organize future staff rotations at Chernobyl, according to the IAEA.
Russian forces are in control of two nuclear power plants in Ukraine: Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, which was seized and shelled by Russian forces on March 3.
The IAEA said the Zaporizhzhia plant is operating at two-thirds capacity and that safety systems are “fully functional.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
However, the nuclear watchdog said it is still not receiving remote data transmission from its safeguards monitoring systems at Chernobyl.
The safeguards monitoring systems verify that nuclear facilities are not misused and nuclear material is not diverted from peaceful uses, according to the IAEA.
