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Headline: Chernobyl Shelter at Risk of Collapse After Russian Strikes, Director Warns
By [Your Name Here]
Kyiv, Ukraine – The director of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is sounding the alarm about the potential for catastrophic damage to the site’s radiation shelter, warning that a Russian strike could trigger its collapse and unleash a new wave of radioactive contamination.
Sergiy Tarakanov, in an interview with AFP, stated that a direct hit or even a nearby explosion, potentially from a missile like an Iskander, could destabilize the shelter, officially known as the “New Safe Confinement” structure. “If a missile or drone hits it directly or even falls somewhere nearby…it will cause a mini-earthquake in the area,” Tarakanov said. “No one can guarantee that the shelter facility will remain standing after that. That is the main threat.”
His warning follows previous reports of damage to the outer radiation shell of the shelter, prompting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to express concerns that the structure has “lost its primary safety functions.” While Tarakanov maintains that current radiation levels at the site remain “stable and within normal limits,” the potential for a collapse raises serious concerns given the plant’s history as the location of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986.
Russian forces seized control of the Chernobyl plant in the early days of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine but later withdrew. The latest warning comes amidst escalating Russian attacks targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Recent strikes on Tuesday morning in the Zhytomyr region resulted in at least three fatalities, including a 4-year-old child.