While retreating from the Chornobyl NPP, Russian troops stole computers, kettles, coffeemakers, and containers with goods from the nuclear power plant, said the head of the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management Yevhen Kramarenko, Suspilne reports.
Russians also robbed the hotel located near the nuclear power plant. They have taken kitchen utensils, forks, spoons, and table sets.
According to Kramarenko, they started withdrawing the equipment from the Chornobyl NPP site on March 31. After some of the equipment was removed, the senior among occupiers, Yakushev, with a call sign “90th”, proposed to draw up an act.
“He threatened that otherwise, they would take our staff to Belarus. Basically, the act was signed under pressure. After the act was signed, the soldiers began to loot, take out things, pack the equipment left on site, and retreat,” Kramarenko said.
At the time the employees were at their workplaces, Russians prohibited them from leaving control rooms and cabinets. Later they realized that it was very quiet and decided to look around the station.
“They walked around the entire Chornobyl NPP site in an hour but did not leave the plant's territory and made sure that there was no one except for the 59 staff members of the station,” Kramarenko said.
According to him, besides some of the things missing, all sensors are normal at first glance, the staff did not yet see any significant damage to the Chornobyl NPP infrastructure.
“But we need to make sure. In the daylight, we will send down more specific employees, who will check the technical condition of all facilities,” Kramarenko said.
He also said that radiation sensors are not working and are not sending the information to the general system. The staff checked the radiation level manually, and there was no increased radiation background level.
“But we will need to restore the system, and we do not understand why it is not sending the data. Maybe, the equipment itself was removed, maybe it is just disconnected. We will find out later,” Kramarenko explained.
Earlier it was reported that leaving the Chornobyl NPP, Russian occupiers took the National Guards, who they have kept in captivity since February 24. The staff working on the Chornobyl NPP also reported this.