Radiation Sickness Affected Russian Soldiers Digging Trenches and Fishing in Chernobyl
Russian Forces Cause Radiation Sickness after Camping in Chernobyl Forest
Ukrainians have warned the Russians not to camp in the forest near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which exploded 37 years ago and still causes radioactive pollution. Despite the warning, Russian forces passed from Belarus to Chernobyl and settled there for five weeks, reportedly digging trenches, fishing in the radioactive reactor’s cooling chute, and shooting animals. Diplomats have confirmed that Russian soldiers serving in the forest later contracted radiation sickness, characterized by symptoms that usually result in death.
On April 1, as Ukrainian troops counterattacked from Kiev, the last invaders retreated, leaving piles of rubbish. It is unclear why the Russians risked exposure to radioactive pollution. Oksana Pishna, a tour guide who works in the state ministry responsible for the forbidden zone, called the decision stupid and illogical.
The Chernobyl disaster is known as the world’s worst civilian nuclear accident, and reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded on April 26, 1986. Many people died as a result of the incident, and the USSR collapsed six years later.
The cleanup is set to end in 2065, and the city of Pripyat and its surrounding 30-kilometer exclusion zone were cleared of citizens in the years after the accident. Teams were sent to the Red Forest to dig up and bury the contaminated topsoil, named after the disastrous color of the trees.
