Russian forces shelling Ukrainian checkpoints near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant may prevent the future rotation of staff at the Russian-occupied facility, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement on Thursday.
The news comes just days after 211 staff members being held hostage by Russian troops at the nuclear plant were allowed to leave the facility for the first time in nearly four weeks.
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var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_48179548", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"978609"} }); ","_id":"0000017f-c04f-d404-adff-ea4f68be0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed”Ukraine informed the [IAEA] today that Russian forces were shelling Ukrainian checkpoints in the city of Slavutych where many people working at the nearby Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant live, putting them at risk and preventing further rotation of personnel to and from the site,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement.
Ukraine’s energy regulatory authority said the shelling was endangering “the homes and families of those operational personnel that ensure the nuclear and radiation safety” of the Chernobyl facility, which has been under the control of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military since the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
CHERNOBYL STAFF RELEASED AFTER WORKING AT GUNPOINT FOR THREE WEEKS
The town of Slavutych is located outside the “exclusion zone” that was established around the Chernobyl plant after the 1986 nuclear disaster.
Staff working at the facility come in from Slavutych, and future rotations would need to come in from Slavutych, too, according to the IAEA.
On Monday, all but 13 staff members, who declined to rotate, were allowed to end their nearly four-week shift. The rotation was long-delayed, and staff members were reportedly forced to work at gunpoint.
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On Tuesday, wildfires broke out near the nuclear plant, raising fears that the smoke could spread radiation from the radioactive forest.
“Probably the fire was caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, namely the shelling or arson,” the Ukrainian Parliament said in a statement.
