![]() ![]() ![]() Populations of animals have been increasing, despite the high contamination of these areas. ( Watch his TEDxPeachtree Talk: Chernobyl 30 years later.)Īnd what Beasley has found defies expectations. To learn about the impact on animal life, wildlife ecologist James Beasley, an associate professor at the University of Georgia, has done what many people wouldn’t do: he’s ventured into the exclusion zones near both the failed Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors. When humans are evacuated after a nuclear disaster, what happens to the environment - soil, plants and trees, animals - left behind? Also, a Russian military source told news agency Reuters the capture of Chernobyl was meant to be a signal by Russia President Vladimir Putin to the West and NATO to not interfere with his plans.Alamy Which is the bigger threat to wildlife: Radioactivity or humans? Wildlife ecologist Jim Beasley has gone into the contaminated zones around Chernobyl and Fukushima to learn the answer, and his findings are both sobering and heartening. Read: US moves authorizing force resolution in UNSC to counter RussiaĦ. Chernobyl is also seen as key because of its proximity to Kyiv the town itself is just 130 kilometres from Ukraine's capital. Keane identified the route as one of four 'axes' Russian forces have used to invade Ukraine the others are a second vector from Belarus, an advance south into the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, and a push north out of Russian-controlled Crimea to the city of Kherson.ĥ. A former chief of the US Army, Jack Keane, said Chernobyl itself "doesn't have any military significance" but is location makes it key for Russia's "decapitation" strategy to oust the Ukrainian government, which is widely seen as Putin's ultimate aim.Ĥ. Read: NATO also has nukes, France warns Russia's Putin as Ukraine war enters Day 2ģ. The 'exclusion zone' means security there is much weaker than at other points along Ukraine's international borders. Chernobyl was seen as an easy target because it is so close to the border and also because of the 2,600 square kilometre 'exclusion zone' that covers the area. Military experts believe Russia moved to capture Chernobyl simply because it is one of the fastest land routes for invading forces.Ģ. The town of Chernobyl - now an abandoned shell of its former self - in northern Ukraine is just 10 miles from Ukraine's border with Belarus, which is a key Russian ally. "… our defenders are giving their lives…" he said, adding "this a declaration of war against the whole of Europe."ġ. The horrific nuclear disaster led to the full-scale evacuation of millions from both Chernobyl and Pripyat, and the actual number of deaths is still unknown.Īfter Russian forces captured the area, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country's forces were fighting to ensure the horrors of 1986 would not be repeated. Covered by a protective shell since a catastrophic leak spewed radioactive waste over thousands of square kilometres, the facility is located just north of Chernobyl town and near the city of Pripyat. Chernobyl - the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in April 1986 - is now under Russian control. ![]()
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