Burning of more than 10,000 hectares of forests in the exclusion zone near Chernobyl nuclear power plant [ChNPP] poses radiation threat to Ukraine, Belarus and European countries. The International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] must send firefighting experts and equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible to prevent irreparable consequences for the whole world.
The Commissioner for Human Rights of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Lyudmyla Denysova announced this on her FB page.
"In the exclusion zone near ChNPP, more than 10,000 hectares of forests are burning due to combat actions. 31 fires have been recorded, which caused increased level of radioactive contamination of air. Control and extinguishing fires are impossible because of occupation of the exclusion zone by russian troops," she wrote.
As a result of combustion, radionuclides are released into the atmosphere and carried by the wind over long distances. This threatens radiation to Ukraine, Belarus and European countries.
"The intensity and area of fires is increasing due to windy and dry weather. This can lead to large-scale fires, which are difficult to cope with even in peacetime. The flame could engulf spent nuclear fuel storage facilities and nuclear waste storage facilities located in Chornobyl zone,” the Ombudsman said.
She appealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send firefighting experts and equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible to prevent irreparable consequences not only for Ukraine but for the whole world.
"The catastrophic consequences can be prevented only by immediate deoccupation of the territory by russian troops. Therefore, I call on international human rights organizations to take all possible measures to increase pressure on the Russian Federation to stop military aggression against Ukraine and to deoccupy high-risk areas," Denisova said.
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine reported that fires covered more than 10 thousand hectares in the exclusion zone because of actions of Russian occupiers. 31 outbreaks of large fires were recorded. Ministry cannot rule out existence of significant number of smaller sources of fire.