Worried About Radiation Exposure, Russian Soldiers Leave The Chernobyl . Generating Area

Illustration of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant area in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/David Holt)

JAKARTA - Ukraine's state nuclear company said all Russian troops occupying a nuclear power plant had withdrawn from the region on Thursday.

There was no immediate comment from Russian authorities. Meanwhile, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it was preparing to send a mission to the radioactive waste facility at Chernobyl in northern Ukraine.

Although the Russian army took control of Chernobyl soon after the February 24 invasion, Ukrainian factory staff continued to oversee the safe storage of spent nuclear fuel. Including watching over the remains of the concrete-encased reactor that exploded in 1986, causing the world's worst nuclear accident. .

"According to the staff of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, there are currently no outsiders on site," Energoatom said in an online post.

State-owned Energoatom previously said most troops had left, leaving only a small number.

The company further revealed that Russian troops had also withdrawn from the nearby town of Slavutych, where the workers in Chernobyl live.

In a separate post, Energoatom said Russia had formally agreed to hand over responsibility for protecting Chernobyl to Ukraine.

They distributed scanned documents signed by people identified as senior staff members at Chernobyl, the Russian military officials assigned to guard Chernobyl. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the document.

Previously, Ukraine had repeatedly expressed security concerns about Chernobyl, demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops whose presence prevented personnel rotation for the time being.

Earlier this week, workers at the site told Reuters Russian soldiers had been driving without radiation protection through the Red Forest, the most radioactively contaminated part of the zone around Chernobyl, emitting a cloud of radioactive dust.

Energoatom said, as a result of their concern about radiation, "it almost started to riot among the soldiers," suggesting this was the reason for their unexpected departure.

Meanwhile, the IAEA said it could not confirm reports of Russian troops receiving high doses of radiation.

Separately, asked to comment on accounts from Chernobyl staff, the Russian defense ministry did not respond.

Earlier, the head of Energoatom urged the IAEA to help ensure Russian nuclear officials do not interfere in the Chernobyl operation and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, also occupied by the Russian army, on Thursday.