Ukraine Retake Chernobyl

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, with the Ukrainian flag flying overhead, has been retaken by Ukrainian forces. A ceremony, honouring the staff continuing to work at the decommissioned nuclear power plant under Russian occupation, was held.

Heavy fighting, taking many people by surprise, broke out near Chernobyl on Thursday, 24 Feb. 2022. The military confrontation, focused on the so-called Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, saw Russian and Ukrainian Armed Forces face-off against each other in a battle of wits.

The invasion of Ukraine, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin weakly calling it "a special military operation," had begun in earnest. Thursday marked the first day of proper hostilities. There was no turning back.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, on friendly terms with his Russian counterpart, is allowing Putin to use his country as a staging platform to strike at Ukraine. Lukashenko, possibly fearing what Putin might do, isn't likely to contradict the Russian president.

“I don’t think it was the political will of the Belarusian leadership to keep Russian troops in Belarus,” Olga Dryndova, a Belarusian analyst, said. “The Belarusian people want to have a neutral status in this conflict. They just cannot go out on the street and show their opposition because of the crackdown on dissent.”

Russian forces, having seemingly invaded the pro-Russian Belarus, quickly seized control of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the immediate surrounding area by end of day. The number of personnel trapped on site, estimated at 100 workers and 200 Ukrainian security, totalled around 300 individuals.

"It is impossible to say the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe after a totally pointless attack by the Russians," Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office, said. "This is one of the most serious threats in Europe today."

Russian troops occupying Chernobyl, by Thursday, 31 March 2022, soon saw which way the wind was metaphorically blowing. The troops, part of a regrouping measure implemented by nearby Russian forces, pulled back from the decommissioned nuclear power plant.

Russia, based on troop movements, wants complete control of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. NATO, despite Russia warning the organisation to not interfere militarily, is unlikely to standby and do nothing.

"Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the #Chornobyl_NPP. Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated. Reported this to @SwedishPM . This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted shortly after the Chernobyl NPP was captured.

The 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the worst nuclear accident in modern history, sent clouds of toxic material across much of Europe. It was quickly learned a botched safety test resulted in the fourth reactor exploding.

Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, didn't sugar-coat his words. The foreign affairs minister, warning of "another ecological disaster", spoke of history potentially repeating itself at the decommissioned site. The 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl, depicting the leadup to and the actual disaster, painted a vivid picture.

In explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in April 1986, becomes one of the world's worst man-made catastrophes.

Chernobyl, directed by Johan Renck from a story penned by miniseries creator Craig Mazin, saw Jared Harris, Jessie Buckley, and Stellan Skarsgård respectively play Valery Legasov, Lyudmilla Ignatenko, and Boris Shcherbina.

Legasov, the Kurchatov Institute deputy director, was brought in to aid clean-up efforts. Ignatenko, at the time of the accident, Vasily Ignatenko's wife. Shcherbina worked as a deputy chairman on the Council of Ministers.

Chernobyl, as a dramatization of real-life events, garnered almost universal critical acclaim in the West. The miniseries, spanning five episodes, also stars Adam Nagaitis, Emily Watson, Paul Ritter, Robert Emms, and Sam Troughton.