Situation Critical: Fire Reaches Pripyat, 2 km From Radioactive Waste Storage

Despite rescuers' efforts, the fire has continued to spread for the 10th day in a row.

A large-scale fire that broke out in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone continues to spread for the 10th day in a row, despite the efforts of rescuers. Yaroslav Yemelianenko, a member of the public council at the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management, described on Facebook how critical the situation currently is.

“The situation is critical. The zone is burning. Local authorities report that everything is under control, but in reality the fire is rapidly spreading to new areas. I see two options: either the Cabinet of Ministers is not being given the real situation, or it has chosen a policy of silence, as the Soviet authorities did in 1986.

Now the fire has reached Pripyat and is just two kilometres directly from the Podlesny radioactive waste storage facility, which holds the most highly radioactive waste in the entire Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself. Chernobyl fires have been fought for the tenth day, and the fire, despite the efforts of rescuers, is moving freely with the wind and has now reached the city of Pripyat and the most dangerous facilities of the Exclusion Zone,” Yemelianenko said.

In addition, Yaroslav Yemelianenko called on the Office of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, Denys Shmyhal, Anton Gerashchenko, Arsen Avakov and Mykola Chechetkin to stop pretending that the situation is under control and to tell people what is really happening with the fire.