An adviser to Ukraine’s presidency said on Thursday that Russian forces that invaded the country are now in control of the former Chernobyl Power Plant.
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities had reported that Russian troops, who entered Ukraine from the northern border with Belarus, were present in the region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this Thursday afternoon that Ukrainian forces were fighting to prevent Russia from capturing the former nuclear plant.
“Russian occupation forces are trying to take Chernobyl [Central Nuclear]. Our defenders are sacrificing their lives so that the 1986 tragedy is not repeated,” Zelensky tweeted.
“This is a declaration of war against all of Europe,” he added.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry had also spoken out saying that a Russian attack on Ukraine could “cause another ecological disaster”.
“In 1986, the world saw the biggest technological disaster at Chernobyl,” the ministry tweeted. “If Russia continues the war, Chernobyl could happen again in 2022.”
Elsewhere, parts of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region were no longer under Kiev’s control, the regional administration said, as Russian forces attacked by land, sea and air.
The mayor of the capital Kiev said that four metro stations will be used as bomb shelters.
The local Ukrainian leadership in the breakaway region of Donetsk said Russian forces hit a local hospital, killing four people.
After months of military escalation and intemperance on the Ukrainian border, Russia attacked the Eastern European country. At dawn this Thursday (24), Russian forces began to bomb several regions of the country – follow the repercussion live on CNN.
What was seen in the following hours, however, was an attack on almost the entire Ukrainian territory, with explosions in several cities, including the capital Kiev.
According to Ukrainian officials, dozens of deaths have been confirmed in the armies of both countries.
Russia has been tightening its military grip around Ukraine for the past year, amassing tens of thousands of troops, equipment and artillery at the country’s gates.
In recent weeks, diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions have been unsuccessful.
The escalation in the years-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine has set off the continent’s biggest security crisis since the Cold War, raising the specter of a dangerous confrontation between Western powers and Moscow.
*With information from Sarah Marsh and Madeline Chambers of Reuters and Eliza Mackintosh of CNN
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
