Political | Process

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier Thursday that Russian forces were attempting to capture the nuclear power plant.

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• “Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated … This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe,” Zelensky wrote in a tweet.

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in a tweet also warned that a Russian attack on Ukraine “may cause another ecological disaster.”

• “In 1986, the world saw the biggest technological disaster in Chernobyl … If Russia continues the war, Chernobyl can happen again in 2022,” the ministry wrote.

• The Chernobyl power plant was the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident when a nuclear reactor exploded in 1986, sending radioactive contamination across Europe, AP notes.

• The reports of fighting at Chernobyl are concerning since the lands surrounding the power plant have high levels of radiation, and are known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

• In addition, munitions — gunfire, artillery shells, missiles, hitting the facility itself could release radioactivity and threaten citizens of nearby EU countries. However, Russian soldiers are likely aware of the dangers, and their aim may be to secure the area in order to move troops more directly to Kyiv.