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Video verified by The Washington Post captured a large explosion Saturday at a dam along the Northern Crimean Canal that had been a source of increasing tensions between Russia and Ukraine over water rights. Ukrainian officials reported a number of other explosions Saturday, including in Vasylkiv, a town south of the capital, where the mayor said an oil depot was hit. That strike could not immediately be verified.
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Chernobyl staff on duty for 2 days straight after Russian seizure, Ukraine warns U.N. nuclear agency
Return to menuStaff at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site had been working for two days straight, Ukraine’s regulator told a United Nations nuclear energy agency on Saturday, expressing concern that Russian control of the site could disrupt operations as the White House accused Russia of “hostage-taking.”
Ukraine’s nuclear regulator told the International Atomic Energy Agency that although the site was operating normally, “the staff on duty had not changed” since Thursday. The IAEA said “the operations of the zone’s nuclear facilities should not be affected or disrupted in any way and that staff must be able to work and rest as normal.”
Avoiding calling out Russia explicitly, the IAEA urged “those in effective control of nuclear facilities not to take any actions that could compromise [the staff’s] safety.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday at a press briefing that “we are outraged by credible reports that Russian soldiers are currently holding the staff of the Chernobyl facilities hostage.”
Psaki said the “unlawful and dangerous hostage-taking … is obviously incredibly alarming and greatly concerning. We condemn it and we request their release.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement that it was “of paramount importance” that Chernobyl operates normally “and that plant staff remain able to carry out their vital work without any undue pressure or stress.”
The 1986 disaster at Chernobyl, when the site was under the control of the Soviet Union, ranks as the world’s worst nuclear power plant accident. The Chernobyl plant decommissioning team had been operating a scaled-back “downtime” service since Feb. 15 because of an outbreak of coronavirus cases among staff, its official website said.
“Until at least 27 February 2022, the operational staff only, ensuring nuclear and radiation safety will remain working on-site on a regular operating schedule,” it announced earlier this month.
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