Russian soldiers allegedly stole highly radioactive “souvenirs” from labs in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, a Ukrainian agency has said.
The invading troops were accused by the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management of breaking into two labs at the decommissioned nuclear plant.
They allegedly engaged in an act of “nuclear terrorism” by looting the facilities and destroying them, the agency said on Facebook.
“New nominees for the Darwin Award,” it added, referring to the tongue-in-cheek recognition of people who have supposedly contributed to human evolution by eliminating themselves from the gene pool through stupid decisions.
The soldiers were said to have entered a repository of ionizing radiation sources, where they “stole and damaged 133 sources with a total activity of about seven million becquerels.”
Ukrainian National Guard members were held as hostages in this room at a Chernobyl power plant administrative building since the start of the Russian invasion. EPA/MIKHAIL PALINCHAK
Members of the Ukrainian National Guard patrol an area near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich The agency noted that the number is comparable to 1,534 pounds “of radioactive waste with the presence of beta and gamma radiation.”
“Even a small portion of this activity is deadly dangerous when unprofessional and uncontrollable behavior with it,” it said, adding that the location of the material is unknown.
Also looted was a lab at the NPP Security Institute, where the marauders stole computers and other office equipment, the agency said.
Russian soldiers allegedly stole highly radioactive items as “souvenirs” from laboratories in Chernobyl. State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone
The State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone said the Russian soldiers engaged in an act of “nuclear terrorism” when they broke into the plant. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich“If radioactive materials were left in the exclusion zone, ‘discarded,’ this is a risk for staff, which further emphasizes the importance of immediate recovery of radiation-dosimetric studies and the removal of these highly active sources,” the agency added.
But it emphasized that the items were likely pilfered as “souvenirs.”
According to recent reports, several hundred Russian troops were withdrawn from the defunct nuclear facility after suffering “acute radiation sickness” and were treated in Belarus.
Ukrainian officials also claimed that the Russian troops “looted and destroyed” a specialist lab at Chernobyl. EPA/MIKHAIL PALINCHAK
Several hundred Russian troops were reportedly withdrawn from the defunct nuclear facility after suffering “acute radiation sickness.” REUTERS/Gleb Garanich An employee at the Public Council at the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management said the soldiers had fled while “irradiated” and bused to a medical facility in Gomel, Belarus.
Ukrainian officials had previously claimed that the Russian troops “looted and destroyed” a specialist lab containing “highly active” radioactive samples.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of using the exclusion zone around Chernobyl to prepare new attacks.
