Russian false flag attack on Chernobyl could cause radiation leak: Ukraine

Russian forces are planning a false flag “terrorist attack” on the captured Chernobyl nuclear facility in Ukraine in a bid to pin the disaster on Kyiv, Ukrainian defence intelligence bureau alleged on Friday.

“According to the available information – Vladimir Putin ordered the preparation of a terrorist attack at the Chernobyl nuclear station. The creation of a technological catastrophe is planned … the responsibility for which the occupiers will try to translate to Ukraine,” the Ukraine defence ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate wrote in a Facebook post.

“At the moment, the CAEC [Chernobyl] is completely disconnected from the monitoring systems of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” the post further said, adding, “The station has been disrupted. The resource of existing diesel generators is calculated for 48 hours of security systems to support.”

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So what happens after 48 hours? 

In the words of Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba,”Reserve diesel generators have a 48-hour capacity to power the Chornobyl NPP. After that, cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent.”

What is even more alarming is that Russian forces in control of the Chernobyl facility have, as per Ukrainian intelligence, refused to let Ukrainian repairmen restore power to the facility. Instead, Russia has facilitated the entry of “Belarusian specialists” to the station, and “also … Russian dissidents to organize a terrorist attack.”

This is not the first time that Ukraine has voiced concern about the presence of Russian troops at the Chernobyl nuclear facility.

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In fact, the Ukraine foreign ministry had warned of a potential “ecological disaster” when the Chernobyl facility came under attack from Russian forces on the first day of the invasion on February 24.

“In 1986, the world saw the biggest technological disaster in Chornobyl. [Russia’s] attack on Ukraine may cause another ecological disaster moving its military forces to Chornobyl. If [Russia] continues the war, Chornobyl can happen again in 2022,” Ukraine’s defence ministry had warned back then.

Further, the defunct Chernobyl is not the only Ukrainian nuclear facility that Russia has taken control of: Russians currently also occupy the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine and Europe’s largest, but do not have operational control as of yet. Meanwhile, reports suggest that Russian troops are also closing in on the Yuzhnoukrainsk Nuclear Power Station, Ukraine’s 2nd largest after Zaporizhzhia.