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Battle of Chernobyl
Part of the Kyiv offensive, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Russo-Ukrainian War
A map of the Russian-occupied territory in northern Ukraine following the Battle of Chernobyl
Date 24 February 2022 Location Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (Chernobyl and Pripyat)51°16′N 30°13′E / 51.267°N 30.217°E / 51.267; 30.217 Result Russian forces seize the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and Power Plant (eventually withdraw)
Belligerents
Russia Supported by: Belarus	Ukraine
Units involved
Russian Armed Forces National Guard of Russia	Armed Forces of Ukraine
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	200 captured

The Battle of Chernobyl was a military confrontation in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone between the Russian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, on 24 February 2022, during the first day of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces invading from the country of Belarus seized the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant area by the end of that day. By 7 March, around 300 people, 100 workers and 200 Ukrainian guards were trapped at the power plant since the Russians captured the site. On 31 March, it was reported that most of the Russian troops occupying Chernobyl pulled back as part of a regrouping of Russian forces in the area.

Background

During the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, large quantities of radioactive material were released from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant into the surrounding environment. The area in a 30 kilometres (19 mi) radius surrounding the exploded reactor was evacuated and sealed off by Soviet authorities. This area was formalised as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and its boundaries have changed over time. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this area became part of newly independent Ukraine and was managed by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Chernobyl is located 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of Ukraine's capital Kyiv and the regional road PO2 connecting Chernobyl and Kyiv is in relatively good conditions, thus creating a direct strategic corridor to Kyiv, which Russian forces could exploit to capture the capital. The Exclusion Zone is located right up on the border with Belarus, a Russian ally which allowed a military buildup in their territory. In 16 February 2022, satellite imagery showed Russian troops building pontoon bridges over rivers in the Belarussian side of the Exclusion Zone, the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve.

Battle

In the afternoon of 24 February 2022, the first day of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government announced that Russian forces had launched an attack to capture the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. By the end of the day, the Ukrainian government further announced that Russian forces had captured Chernobyl and Pripyat. Following the Russian capture of the exclusion zone, the American government announced "credible reports that Russian soldiers are currently holding the staff of the Chernobyl facilities hostage".

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has stated "there had been no casualties nor destruction at the industrial site". Russia later reported that it was "working with the Ukrainians to secure" the site.

From mid to late March, intense fighting took place in and around Slavutych, the town constructed to house workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power station following the disaster. Russian forces briefly captured the town before withdrawing after several days.

Reactions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the Russian capture of the zone a "declaration of war against the whole of Europe".

Mykhailo Podoliyak, adviser to head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, was quoted as saying that it was a "totally pointless attack", and "the condition of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, confinement, and nuclear waste storage facilities is unknown". However, the International Atomic Energy Agency stated that there were "no casualties nor destruction at the industrial site" and that it was "of vital importance that the safe and secure operations of the nuclear facilities in that zone should not be affected or disrupted in any way".

Analysis

In the greater picture of the Kyiv offensive, the capture of Chernobyl can be considered a waypoint for Russian troops advancing towards Kyiv. Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the United States Army Europe, stated that the exclusion zone was "important because of where it sits... If Russian forces were attacking Kyiv from the north, Chernobyl is right there on the way." Former American Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia Evelyn Farkas said that the Russian forces "want to surround the capital" and that they "certainly don't want loose nuclear material floating around" in case of a Ukrainian insurgency.

The exclusion zone is important for containing fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986; as such, Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs adviser Anton Herashchenko said that "if the occupiers' artillery strikes hit the nuclear waste storage facility, radioactive dust may cover the territories of Ukraine, Belarus and the EU countries". According to the BBC, monitoring stations in the area reported a 20-fold increase in radiation levels, up to 65 μSv/h. For comparison, the average person is exposed to 0.41 μSv/h from background radiation. At 65 μSv/h it would require more than a month of continuous exposure to meet the conservative yearly exposure limit for US radiation workers. This does not account for inhaled or ingested radioactive particles, which increase exposure rates. Claire Corkhill of the University of Sheffield stated that the increase was localised and was due in part to "increased movement of people and vehicles in and around the Chernobyl zone will have kicked up radioactive dust that's on the ground".

Russian administration

On 9 March 2022, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba claimed that since the power supply of the Chernobyl NPP was damaged, it lost power, and that the diesel generator backup systems only have enough fuel to support cooling operations for 48 hours, meaning that there would be danger of radiation leaks. The risk is uncertain, on one hand Ukrainian officials have a precedent for making public communications in the hopes of involving other countries in the war, on the other hand Russian military operations have already shown tolerance for producing nuclear risks when they caused a fire in the takeover of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that the National Guard of Russia was running a "joint operation" with local workers and surrendered Ukrainian soldiers to keep the containment operations of the Chernobyl NPP.

The International Atomic Energy Agency released a statement expressing concern about the situation, but considering that the disconnection did not pose an immediate critical risk to the operations, considering that the large volumes of water allow for sufficient cooling without electricity. Nevertheless, the agency recognised that lack of electricity was likely to deteriorate radiation safety, specifically through the increased workload and stress on the 210 personnel working without rotations at the site. The IAEA has also expressed concern about the interruption of communications and the capacity of personnel to make decisions without undue pressure. On 10 March 2022, it was reported that all contact was lost.

On 29 March, Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Alexander Fomin announced a withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kyiv area, and on 1 April the State Agency on Exclusion Zone Management announced that Russian troops had completely withdrawn from the Chernobyl NPP.

Potential radiation exposure

Reuters reported that the Russian forces used the Red Forest as a route for their convoys, kicking up clouds of radioactive dust. Local workers claimed the Russian soldiers moving in those convoys were not using protective suits and could have potentially endangered themselves. On 31 March 2022, a Ukrainian council member of the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management claimed on his Facebook page that Russian troops were regularly removed from the exclusion zone surrounding Chernobyl and taken to the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Radiation Medicine and Human Ecology in Gomel, Belarus. This rumor led to further speculation in the press that the soldiers were suffering from acute radiation syndrome.

Local workers and scientists also claimed Russian troops looted radioactive material from the laboratories.

References

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1. Al-Arshani, Sarah. "Ukrainian flag raised over Chernobyl nuclear plant after Russian troops withdraw". Business Insider. Retrieved 2 April 2022.

• Battles of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Chernobyl, Ukraine
• Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
• February 2022 events in Ukraine
• History of Kyiv Oblast
• Kyiv offensive (2022)