On April 26, 1986, the biggest accident in the history of nuclear energy occurred at the Chernobyl power plant after registering the explosion of reactor number 4, with serious consequences that still affect today.
Specifically, the enclave was part of the former Soviet Union (USSR) , to which Ukraine belonged, and the Kremlin tried to silence the event for weeks, as Europa Press explains.
After the start of the war between Ukraine and Russia , the nuclear power plant has occupied a large part of the news, above all, because the Russian troops have launched an offensive to, as the president of Ukraine has denounced, take control of the plant located in the north of the country.
This is how Volodimir Zelensky warned in his Twitter account: “The Russian occupation forces are trying to capture the Chernobyl plant” , indicating that the Ukrainian troops “are giving their lives so that the 1986 tragedy is not repeated”. Zelenski has underlined that “it is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe”.
The danger of this Russian offensive is summed up in the warning issued by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry: “In 1986, the world saw the greatest disaster in Chernobyl. If Russia continues the war, Chernobyl may happen again in 2022.”
In addition, this area is in a perfectly strategic place for the Russians’ plans, since it is close to the border that separates Russia from Ukraine and even closer to Kiev, the capital where Putin’s troops have already arrived.