Ukraine calls for ‘disarmament’ of fire-ridden Chernobyl zone

INA-  SOURCES

New fires broke out in the area of ​​the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian forces, according to the Ukrainian authorities, which called for the “disarmament” of the sector under the auspices of the United Nations.

“Large fires have broken out in the exclusion zone, which can have very serious consequences,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshuk wrote on her Telegram account on Sunday evening.
“However, it is now impossible to fully control and extinguish the fires due to the control of the restricted area by the occupying Russian forces,” she added.
“Therefore, we demand the UN Security Council to take immediate measures to disarm the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone,” the official continued.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Sunday that the security situation at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants has not changed. It was estimated last week that the forest fires around Chernobyl do not pose a significant radioactive risk.
The IAEA has, since March 9, stopped receiving live data from Chernobyl. On Sunday, she was concerned about the lack of employee turnover at the plant since March 20.
The factory was occupied by the Russian army on February 24, the first day of the invasion.
Reactor 4 at the plant exploded in 1986, causing the worst civilian nuclear disaster in history. It is covered with a double stone sarcophagus, one of which was built by the Soviets and now damaged, and the other, more modern, that opened in 2019.