Why Is Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Important For Russia & Ukraine? Reason Inside

After Russia declared war on Ukraine, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has reportedly been captured by Russian forces, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on 24 February.

  1. Chernobyl sits on the shortest route from Belarus to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. And so runs along a logical line of attack for the Russian force invading Ukraine.
  1. Russia reportedly wants to control the Chernobyl nuclear reactor to signal NATO not to interfere militarily.
  1. It could possibly be Russia’s plan to take control of the whole effing country.
  1. The Chernobyl disaster in the-Soviet Ukraine sent clouds of nuclear material across much of Europe in 1986 after an impaired safety test in the fourth reactor of the atomic plant.
  1. Taking Chernobyl was part of the plan, and a senior Ukrainian official said it was captured on Thursday by Russian forces, though a senior US defence official said the United States could not confirm this.
  1. “It was the quickest way from A to B,” said James Acton of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.
  1. The route from Belarus to Kyiv through Chernobyl might be particularly appealing to Russian military planners. It is because it would allow them to cross the Dnieper River in Belarus, avoiding a potentially hazardous crossing of the major river, which bisects Ukraine, behind enemy lines.
  1. Jack Keane, a former chief of the US Army staff, said Chernobyl “doesn’t have any military significance” but sits on the shortest route from Belarus to Kyiv, the target of a Russian ‘decapitation’ strategy to depose the Ukrainian government.
  1. The radioactive dust, strontium, caesium and plutonium mainly affected Ukraine and neighbouring Belarus, as well as parts of Russia and Europe. 
  1. Soviet authorities originally sought to cover up the disaster and did not immediately admit to the explosion, tarnishing the image of reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his “glasnost” policies for greater openness in Soviet society.

Meanwhile, recent fighting in the area this week could stir up contaminated soil and other waste. It also raises concerns about the possibility of harmful environmental impacts that could spread far beyond the grounds. Many innocent people are dying and facing severe consequences due to the war.
Source: Reuters

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