Radiation levels at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine have reportedly hit 'abnormal' levels, according to the head of the UN's atomic agency.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi visited the Chernobyl nuclear plant to deliver equipment, conduct radiological assessments and restore safeguards monitoring systems.
His visit comes on the anniversary of the disaster at the plant in 1986, the world’s worst nuclear accident.
Grossi said: "The radiation level, I would say, is abnormal. There have been some moments when the levels have gone up because of the movement of the heavy equipment that Russian forces were bringing here and when they left. We are following that day by day."
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According to AFP, Grossi also told reporters that Russia's occupation of the site was 'very, very dangerous'.
Russian tanks and troops churned up highly contaminated soil in the early days of Russia’s invasion in February.
Concerns have been raised from employees at the plant over Russian forces being exposed to potentially harmful doses of radiation, increasing the likelihood of cancer and other health issues for decades to come.
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One Russian soldier who was part of the team that initially captured Chernobyl has died, The Telegraph reports, while another is said to have picked up a source of radiation with his bare hands.
Ihor Ugolkov, a Ukrainian soldier, told CNN: "They went to the Red Forest and brought radioactive material back with them on their shoes. Other places are fine, but radiation increased here, because they were living here.
"They went everywhere, and they also took some radioactive dust on them [when they left]."
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Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko also said: "It's crazy, really. I really have no idea why they did it.
"But we can see they went in there, the soldiers who went there, came back here and the level of radiation increased."
Volodymyr Falshovnyk, a shift manager at Chernobyl, also accused Russian troops of looting the plant while haphazardly ignoring the threat of radiation.
He said: "They gave us personnel from Rosatom [Russian Nuclear Agency] to escort us, and in their escort we toured the uncovered warehouses. They robbed these warehouses all the time."
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Yaroslav Yemelianenko, an employee with the Public Council at the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management, earlier cited 'radiation irradiation' upon the withdrawal of the Russian terrorists.
He said: "Digging the trenches in the Rudu forest, b*****s?
"Now live the rest of your short life with this. There are rules of handling this territory."
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Anish Vij