Russian troops left Chernobyl with Ukrainian soldiers as hostage: Kyiv

Posted by harsh sultayia on April 1st, 2022

Russian troops evacuated Ukraine\'s Chernobyl nuclear power plant on Tuesday after weeks of occupation, but brought with them an unknown number of captive Ukrainian soldiers, officials in Kyiv said Thursday. \"As they fled the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Russian occupiers took with them members of the National Guard, whom they had been holding hostage since February 24,\" state nuclear agency Energoatom said in a statement. communicated on Telegram, quoting the central. workers. It is not known how many Ukrainian soldiers were taken away. day, a government agency responsible for the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone said that all Russian troops had left. \"There are no more foreigners on the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,\" the agency said on Facebook. Upon leaving, Russian troops \"marched in two columns towards Ukraine\'s border with Belarus\" and a \"small number\" of Russian forces remained at the station, Energoatom said on Thursday. “There is also evidence that a column of Russian soldiers  besieging the town of Slavutych is forming to move towards Belarus,” he said. Slavutych is home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Since the Russian invasion, there are fears of an increase in radiological risks at Chernobyl. Chernobyl\'s number four reactors exploded on April 26, 1986, resulting in the world\'s worst nuclear accident that killed hundreds and spread radioactive contamination  across Europe.The site is located near the border with Belarus.