Ukraine demands the UN introduce a special mission in the exclusion zone

Kateryna Tyshchenko - Sunday, March 27, 2022, 22:50

Ukraine urges the UN Security Council to take immediate measures to demilitarise the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and establish a UN special mission there.

Source: Deputy Prime Minister, Iryna Vereshchuk at a briefing

Verbatim: "In the context of nuclear security, the irresponsible and unprofessional actions of Russian military personnel pose a very serious threat not only to Ukraine but also to hundreds of millions of Europeans."

"Therefore, we demand the UN Security Council take immediate measures to demilitarise the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and establish a special UN mission there to eliminate the risk of a recurrence of the Chornobyl accident as a result of Russian occupying forces’ actions."

Details: Iryna Vereshchuk stressed that the continued militarisation of the Exclusion Zone and the Chornobyl nuclear power plant by Russian occupying forces poses a profound risk of damaging insulation facilities built over the plant's fourth unit after the 1986 explosion. Such damage will inevitably lead to a significant amount of radioactive dust entering the atmosphere and contaminating not only Ukraine but also other European countries.

"The aggressors are ignoring these threats and continue to transport and store a significant amount of ammunition in close proximity to the nuclear power plant," she added.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Russian occupying forces are increasingly using old and substandard ammunition, which increases the risk of it being detonated even when loading and transporting.

In addition, alarming fires have started in the exclusion zone, which could have serious consequences. Simultaneously, it has been impossible to control fires or extinguish them, since the exclusion zone was seized by the occupying forces of the Russian Federation.

"Radionuclides are released into the atmosphere as a result of combustion, and can be carried by the wind over long distances, which threatens radiation to Ukraine and other European countries. Loss of control over the exclusion zone and the impossibility of proper fire suppression may threaten radiation facilities in the area," Iryna Vereshchuk explained.

Background: On March 26, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine announced that fires have been reported in the exclusion zone near the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, covering a total area of ​​10,111 hectares, and radioactive contamination was increasing.