Russians fled Chernobyl nuclear plant at 'first sign of illness' from radiation, says Ukraine
India Today
Ukrainians have claimed that Russian troops fled the Chernobyl nuclear power plant at the first sign of illness from radiation.
Russian troops fled the Chernobyl nuclear power station after receiving high doses of radiation, Ukrainians have claimed. The claims made by the Ukrainian state power company Energoatom are now being investigated by the UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency.
According to the report in the Guardian, Energoatom said the Russians dug trenches in the forest inside the exclusion zone at the power plant, adding that the troops "panicked at the first sign of illness which showed up very quickly and began preparing to leave."
Read: Russian troops left Chernobyl with Ukrainian soldiers as hostage: Kyiv
The Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, also said the Russians were exposed to radiation.
Some reports also said the Russian soldiers were sent to a special medical facility in Belarus "after driving tanks through the “dead zone” around the nuclear plant, kicking up radioactive dust."
Energoatom also said that Russian forces moved back from the nearby town of Slavutych, where workers at Chernobyl live.
The IAEA said it was preparing to send its first “assistance and support mission” to Chernobyl in northern Ukraine in the next few days.
