White House condemns Russia for ‘credible reports’ of hostages in Chernobyl

The White House condemned Russia on Thursday for “credible reports” that civilian workers at the Chernobyl plant in northern Ukraine were taken hostage.

“We are outraged by credible reports that Russian soldiers are holding employees at the Chernobyl facility hostage,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

“This illegal and dangerous hostage taking, which could undermine routine civil service efforts needed to maintain and protect nuclear waste facilities, is obviously incredibly alarming and very concerning. We condemn him and ask for his release.”

Russians take Chernobyl: Ukrainian officials confirmed on Thursday that Russian forces had passed the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

Alyona Shevtsova, adviser to the supreme commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, said on social media that the Russians had taken control of the plant and that team members were being “held hostage”.

“After the fierce battle, our control over the Chornobyl zone was lost. The condition of former ChNPP facilities, containment and nuclear waste storage facilities is unknown. After a completely senseless Russian attack in that direction, it is impossible to say that Chernobyl is one of the most serious threats to Europe today,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, said on Thursday.

the nuclear disaster: In 1986, more than 30 people died after an explosion hit one of the reactors at the Chernobyl plant. In the years and months that followed, many more people died from radiation symptoms.

Immediately afterwards, a steel and concrete sarcophagus was constructed to cover the damaged reactor and contain the radioactive material, but it has since deteriorated to a leaking radiation.

In 2016, the new secure confinement arch was deployed to seal the aged, hastily constructed sarcophagus. In 2020, the facility was handed over to the Ukrainian authorities, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.