Situation in Chornobyl very dangerous for both Europe and Russia - Podoliak

Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, said this in a comment to the media, Ukrinform reports.

"The situation in Chornobyl in general is very dangerous. Due to the actions of the invaders, stable power supply to facilities there was suspended, and they simply should not be left without energy supply. This is a threat to the whole of Europe and, of course, to Russia itself," he said.

At the same time, Podoliak said he was convinced that if the Russians started a war for the conquest of their neighbors in the spirit of the wars of the Middle Ages, then in such an ideological framework there is absolutely no place for modern science, modern infrastructure.

Therefore, according to him, it is not surprising that the invaders are shooting at nuclear power units, fighting on the sites of nuclear facilities, disrupting energy supplies.

"All these objects […] can be used as objects of blackmail," Podoliak said.

He also recalled that the IAEA had stopped receiving mandatory data from the security monitoring system. That is, the world community earlier always had a picture of what is happening at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, but now no one understands what is happening there.

"If this is so, then the world must put much more pressure on Russia to literally oust the occupiers from Ukraine. The longer Russian troops stay in our country, the more these people from the Middle Ages create problems for everyone in Europe and for themselves," Podoliak said.

As reported, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been under the control of Russian invaders since March 4. The invaders seized the Chornobyl nuclear power plant on February 24, and since then there has been no opportunity to change personnel at the plant.

The Chornobyl NPP was completely blacked out as a result of the actions of the Russian occupiers. The fighting continues, and it is still impossible to carry out repair work and restore power supply.

The IAEA stopped receiving data from systems monitoring nuclear material at the radioactive waste facilities at the Chornobyl and Zaporizhia nuclear power plants.

As reported, on February 24, Russian President Putin announced the beginning of a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure, residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, MLRS and ballistic missiles.

Martial law was imposed in Ukraine and general mobilization was declared.