In the exclusion zone near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant more than 10 thousand hectares of forests in 31 areas are on fire, said the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova.
"More than 10 thousand hectares of forests are burning in the exclusion zone in the vicinity of the Chernobyl NPP because of the hostilities, 31 fires have been recorded, which leads to an increased level of radioactive air pollution," Denisova wrote in her Facebook on Sunday.
She appealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send experts and equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible to extinguish the fire to "prevent irreparable consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for the whole world."
"Combustion releases radionuclides into the atmosphere, which are carried by the wind over significant distances. This is fraught with radiation for Ukraine, Belarus and European countries," said the ombudsman.
At the same time, she expressed the conviction that catastrophic consequences can only be prevented by the immediate de-occupation of the territory seized by Russian troops.
"Therefore, I call on international human rights organizations to take all possible measures to increase pressure on the Russian Federation to stop the military aggression against Ukraine and de-occupy the high-risk zones," Denisova said.
According to her, due to the occupation of the exclusion zone by the Russian troops, it is impossible to control and extinguish the fires.
Denisova expressed her belief that because of the windy and dry weather, the intensity and area of fires will increase, which could lead to super large-scale fires that are difficult to manage even in peacetime.
"Flames could engulf spent nuclear fuel storage facilities and nuclear waste storage facilities that are in the Chernobyl zone," she warned.
Neither the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate nor the State Exclusion Zone Management Agency is currently giving new information about fires in the zone.
As reported, the SNRIU, with reference to the Center for Forecasting the Consequences of Radiation Accidents of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center of the State Emergency Service, warned on March 21 that the radiation situation in the Exclusion Zone could further deteriorate due to forest fires, which cannot be extinguished due to the Russian occupation of the territory. The fires near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were recorded as early as March 11.
On March 24, Ruslan Strilets, acting Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, said that the total area of fires in the exclusion zone, which started during the last two weeks of the Russian occupation, exceeds 8.7 thousand hectares on more than 30 sites.
According to his data, at that time 28 fires on the area of more than 8 thousand hectares were localized, but in the territory of two forestry areas - Lubyansky and Kotovsky - the burning continued, and four new fires were identified in the forestry areas of the zone.
