Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova has said that more than 10,000 hectares of forests are burning in the area of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (Chornobyl NPP) because of hostilities.
She wrote about this on Facebook, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
"More than 10,000 hectares of forests are burning in the exclusion zone in the Chornobyl NPP area due to hostilities, 31 fires have been recorded, which leads to an increased level of radioactive air pollution. Fire control and extinguishing are impossible due to the capture of the exclusion zone by Russian troops. As a result of combustion, radionuclides are released into the atmosphere, which are transported by the wind over significant distances. This threatens radiation to Ukraine, Belarus and European countries," Denisova wrote.
According to her, due to windy and dry weather, the intensity and area of fires will increase, which can cause ultra-large-scale fires, which are difficult to cope with even in peacetime.
The flames may include spent nuclear fuel storage facilities and nuclear waste storage facilities located in the Chornobyl zone.
"I appeal to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send experts and firefighting equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible in order to prevent irreparable consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for the whole world," the Ombudsman added.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on March 24, the IAEA announced that a slight increase in the concentration of caesium in the air was revealed at the Chornobyl NPP, firefighters were extinguishing forest fires near the NPP.
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