Over 10,000 ha of forest on fire near Chornobyl – ombudsperson

18:03, 27.03.2022 1 min read

In the exclusion zone near Chornobyl nuclear power plant, more than 10,000 hectares of forests in 31 areas have been engulfed in fire, Liudmyla Denisova, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada, said.

"In the exclusion zone near Chornobyl nuclear power plant, more than 10,000 hectares of forests are burning due to hostilities, 31 fires have been recorded, which leads to an increased level of radioactive air pollution," Denisova wrote on her Facebook on Sunday.

She appealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send experts and fire-fighting equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible in order to "prevent irreparable consequences not only for Ukraine, but for the whole world."

"As a result of combustion, radionuclides are released into the atmosphere, which are carried by the wind over considerable distances. This is fraught with radiation to Ukraine, Belarus and European countries," the ombudsperson noted.