Chernobyl anniversary: Zelenskyy accuses Russia of ‘once again bringing world to brink of man-made disaster’

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday accused Russia of “nuclear terrorism” as he marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, warning that Moscow’s actions risk triggering another man-made catastrophe.Zelenskyy said that since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia was “again bringing the world to the brink of a man-made disaster”, highlighting that Russian drones continue to fly over Chernobyl and that one struck its protective shell last year, as cited by AFP“The world must not allow this nuclear terrorism to continue, and the best way is to force Russia to stop its reckless attacks,” Zelenskyy added.Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones on Sunday targeted a fertiliser plant in northwest Russia, damaging a high-pressure sulphuric acid pipeline at the Apatit JSC complex in the Vologda region, regional governor Georgy Filimonov said, as cited by Bloomberg. The facility is owned by PhosAgro PJSC. Filimonov said the strike did not trigger a fire, and the pipeline leak has since been repaired.Air quality tests showed no release of hazardous chemicals, though preliminary reports indicated that five people were injured and hospitalised, he added.Ukraine said its air defences also intercepted or neutralised 124 of 144 drones launched overnight by Russia, though some strikes hit targets across 11 locations, with debris reported at six sites.

On April 26, 1986, a safety test gone wrong triggered a catastrophic explosion in reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, then part of the Soviet Union, due to human error.The blast ripped through the reactor building, releasing a massive plume of radioactive material into the atmosphere, while nuclear fuel continued to burn for more than 10 days. In an effort to contain the fallout, thousands of tonnes of sand, clay and lead were dropped by helicopter over the site.The International Atomic Energy Agency later concluded that the disaster was caused by “severe deficiencies in the design of the reactor and the shutdown system,” compounded by “violation” of operational procedures.Estimates of the death toll vary widely. A 2005 United Nations report put the number of confirmed and projected deaths at around 4,000 across the three worst-affected countries, while Greenpeace estimated in 2006 that the disaster may have led to nearly 100,000 deaths.