Inside Chernobyl’s eerie wasteland as 80,000 Russian troops are poised to march through radioactive zone & capture Kiev

A NEW chill haunts the desolate radioactive wasteland on the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in northern Ukraine. The very name of the town – Chernobyl – became a Doomsday watchword when its atom plant exploded in 1986, belching an invisible pall of radiation which claimed 16,000 lives. The Sun’s Chief Foreign Correspondent Nick Parker in Chernobyl Western powers claim Russia is planning to invade Ukraine The abandoned funfair in the town of Pripyat a few miles from the Chernobyl power plant But 36 years later, benighted locals living near the wrecked reactor were facing the terrifyingly tangible threat of a vast Russian army last night. Around 80,000 of Vladimir Putin’s troops and their allies are now camped a short distance across Ukraine’s northern border with Belarus, with thousands more pouring in every day. The deserted 1,000-square-mile Chernobyl exclusion zone presents their shortest and swiftest path to Ukraine’s capital Kiev. Kremlin warlords insist troops, tanks and missile batteries arriving by train are taking part in military exercises and pose no threat to Ukraine. But the zone declared uninhabitable around the reactor core since its meltdown has become strategically vital as Ukraine musters its defences.     And the threat from the north is now so real that commanders tasked with defending Kiev have ordered an extra 7,500 border guards to patrol the tainted wilderness. Most read in The Sun NOT AGAIN SIMON Simon Cowell rushed to hospital after another terrifying e-bike smash TOP SHOCK Woman told to cover up at theme park as her ‘big boobs make people uncomfortable’ DEVIL IN THE DETAILS My son is devastated as Man Utd won't change his Mason Greenwood shirt RAPE PROBE Mason Greenwood quizzed over 'threats to kill' & sex assault after fresh arrest OUR PAIN EastEnders' Michael Greco a 'crying wreck' as he breaks down on Loose Women IS THAT RAE-LLY YOU? Love Island's Kendall looks totally different four years after show We arrived at the Chernobyl reactor site today and were told movements were being restricted by a two day military exercise involving Ukraine’s National Guards. A 36-year-old local with regular access to the zone said: “More troops have been arriving and we are seeing them patrolling and moving close to the border. “The zone straddles the frontier with Belarus where the Russians are camped and our forces are clearly preparing to meet them if they come this way. “An obvious advantage is that there are no civilians to join the resistance or get in the way – only 150 of locals chose to go back after the disaster and all are now aged 75-100. “The radiation levels are now tolerable provided exposure does not last too long, but if the Russians pass through here they could be in Kiev in two hours. ”But if they come we will fight them. Everyone will resist no matter which direction they take.” A NUCLEAR WASTELAND The city of Pripyat was purpose-built to provide manpower for the huge Chernobyl plant’s four reactors and was once a thriving community of 50,000 people. But the entire population ran for their lives within hours when Reactor Number Four exploded and began spewing radiation across Europe on April 26, 1986. No one returned and the abandoned city is now defined by its dereliction and the iconic landmark of the rusting ferris wheel and dodgems in its overgrown funfair. Herds of wild horses now run free and packs of wolves have returned to roam the deserted land which has lain undisturbed by humans for nearly four decades. Dust-covered dolls cast their lifeless gaze over an abandoned kindergarten we were shown today in one of more than 100 empty settlements where invaders may seek cover. A wild horse and packs of dogs pestered us as we approached the 354-foot concrete and steel dome encasing the still lethal radioactive core at the centre of the site. Our guide told us: “You must be wary of these animals – they never leave here and their fur can carry high levels of radiation. “The dogs here don’t bite but they are still dangerous.” Geiger counters radiation meters handed to us beeped wildly several times – within safe levels – as radiation levels spiked during our three-hour escorted tour. Sources inside the zone revealed today that troop numbers have spiralled in the past two months as tensions increased north of the border. Fears rose yet again as it was reported that Russian radar-jamming vehicles were on the move to help shield an invasion force led by elite Spetsnaz special forces. Ukrainian troops now guarding the area are ordered to constantly check their exposure to radiation and limit their time anywhere near Chernobyl. But Russian tanks, armoured troop carriers and artillery batteries could sweep through swiftly leaving them a clear route south to Kiev in as little as two hours. And undercover Spetsnaz units are feared to have already moved south of the border to prepare the way for attack. ENEMY AT THE GATES Western military chiefs fear Russian forces could take advantage of defenders spread thinly across the barren zone where no large troop concentrations can be based. Ukrainian artillery strikes to halt an invasion would also be dogged by the risk of disturbing the contaminated radioactive soil. Flat farmland and a highway directly south to Kiev is now believed to be a preferred option for Putin’s war planners. Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Shakraichuk of the Ukraine State Border Guard Service – whose men were patrolling the frontier – said: “Chernobyl is an area of increased danger. “We increased the strength of protection, we increased the number of patrols, and we increased the number of people in these patrols.” You must be wary of these animals – they never leave here and their fur can carry high levels of radiation. Chernobyl guide Colonel Shakraichuk said his troops were equipped with monitoring radiation detectors – and were under orders to flee the zone if alerted by the devices. He said: “All the routes that border patrols walk are monitored and patrols don’t go to the places where the ionising radiation is high. We use drones to monitor the contaminated areas.” “If the device goes off the patrol will leave the contaminated territory as soon as possible.” Seven thousand elite Russian Spetsnaz special forces troops are now armed and ready to attack Ukraine from Belarus, it was revealed today. Military intelligence sources revealed that the 2,000-strong 14th Spetsnaz Brigade is now en route to the Putin puppet state. The force added to 5,000 crack comrades already in position as close as 12 miles from Ukraine’s northern border. Commanders now fear the rogue nation may now become the springboard for a lightning attack on Kiev, just 150 miles south. Hundreds of Spetsnaz are already believed to be in Ukraine preparing the ground for an attack expected “at any time” as UN peace talks remain deadlocked. The spearhead units of the invasion force are among an estimated 80,000 pro-Putin soldiers now in Belarus while 130,000 more have moved into position from the south and east. Some 80,000 Russian troops are poised nearby at the Belorussian border A former top secret Russian radar station near Chernobyl Chernobyl has become an unlikely tourist hotspot in recent years Doug SeeburgAn abandoned village near the Chernobyl power plant[/caption]