On Thursday, Ukrainian authorities confirmed that Russian troops had withdrawn from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after being on the receiving end of “significant doses of radiation” at a nearby toxic zone known as the “Red Forest.”
In a statement, Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear energy company Energoatom affirmed that a large number of Russian forces had begun marching in columns to Belarus, but underscored that some troops still remained. Energoatom noted that “almost a riot broke out among the [Russian] military” after troops began displaying symptoms of illness—attributing this to Moscow’s attempt to build trenches and other fortifications in the “Red Forest,” one of the most toxic areas in the exclusion zone.
In a related development, Ukrainian News Agency reported that Russian forces have signed an “Act of Transfer and Acceptance of Protection of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant,” which states that the Ukrainian authorities in the power plant have no claims against the Russian soldiers.
russian occupiers left Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Two key reasons: losses caused by 🇺🇦 army and radiation exposure. russian mutants lost this round of @stalker_thegame#UaArmy
— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 1, 2022
Talking about the sick Russian soldiers, Yaroslav Yemelianenko, a member of the Ukrainian State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management, said, “If you have minimal intelligence in command or soldiers, these consequences could have been avoided.” Citing Environmental data group Safecast, Newsweek reported that despite the Russian military’s irresponsible behaviour, the radiation in the Red Forest is not enough for Acute Radiation Syndrome.
Russia’s withdrawal from Chernobyl comes against the backdrop of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi’s recent visit to Ukraine. Russian forces captured Chernobyl, located to the north of Kyiv, on the first day of their invasion and later seized the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, which is home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
7 busses with Russian soldiers suffering from Acute Radiation Syndrome have arrived to a hospital in Belarus from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 30, 2022
They allegedly dug trenches in the highly radioactive Red Forest - UNIAN News Agency pic.twitter.com/3ZcqoF6c9I
Although Russia’s withdrawal from Chernobyl is in line with its recent promise to “drastically” reduce military activity in Kyiv and Chernihiv, Ukraine says that it sees no change in Moscow’s military assault. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday, “We don’t believe anyone, not a single beautiful phrase,” adding that Russia has continued shelling despite announcing a pullback.
Experts suggest that Russia’s departure from the north of Ukraine might be in preparation to concentrate its focus in the eastern parts of Ukraine, namely Donbas and Mariupol.
Videos that are coming from #Mariupol are beyond horrific. Complete devastation, dead bodies laying on the streets. Those who are alive look like ghosts that are walking through hell.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) March 31, 2022
The Russian army is an army of looters, rapists and murderers. pic.twitter.com/ItKSOOcWBB
Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian forces agreed to hold a temporary ceasefire in Mariupol on Friday to help create humanitarian corridors for the 100,000 people still trapped there. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister (PM), Iryna Vereshchuk, confirmed that the government is sending 45 buses to the besieged city in a renewed evacuation effort. Ukrainian authorities claim that more than 5,000 people have died in Mariupol since the beginning of the Russian invasion.