The former Commander-in-Chief of Estonia, Member of the European Parliament Rigo Terras, stated that the West must close the airspace over the Chernobyl zone occupied by the Russian aggressor to neutralize the threat - UNIAN reports.
"I support the idea of closing the air over Chernobyl, but it will not happen at this stage, due to the lack of political will of the American leadership and President Biden personally. We must influence them, and I am already doing it. But Biden is not ready for a no-fly zone over Ukraine," Terras said.
He noted that the West "is not yet ready to send forces to Ukraine to close the airspace, in particular over the nuclear power plant."
"This is an important issue for the whole world to protect the air over Ukraine. We must influence the United States to make this decision," said the former commander-in-chief.
On 24 February, after the fierce fight, the Ukrainian fighters lost control over the Chernobyl site. The condition of the Chernobyl facilities and nuclear waste storage facilities is unknown.
On 25 February, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine reported that radiation levels exceeded in the Chornobyl zone. On the same day, the Ministry of Energy stated that the Russian occupiers had been detaining the personnel of the Chernobyl NPP for the second day in a row, not allowing them to rotate, as required by technical safety rules.
On 28 February, Russian Su-30 and Su-35 aircraft began manoeuvres in the no-fly zone over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as well as over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and fired from there, so that Ukrainian troops could not retaliate, as the downing of a plane over a nuclear power plant could lead to an environmental catastrophe.