Hundreds of Russians face a lingering death from radiation poisoning after digging trenches at Chernobyl disaster site
HUNDREDS of Russians face a lingering death from radiation poisoning after being ordered to dig trenches at the Chernobyl disaster site.
Tyrant Vladimir Putin’s troops set to work in the most contaminated place on Earth.
Nuclear experts warned many of them face being struck down with lethal cancers in years to come, with one insisting: “Putin’s commanders might as well have ordered these men to dig their own graves.”
Before they abandoned their positions last month, the Russian invaders were seen by Ukrainian locals with skin rashes and reddened eyes.
The Sun was yesterday given controlled access to the trench network in sight of the vast protective dome shielding the doomed nuclear reactor’s core less than a mile away.
Dr Olena Buntova, a retired biologist living in Chernobyl who has studied the effects of radiation since the 1986 meltdown, insisted: “How could they have been so stupid?
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“The commanders who ordered the digging must have cared nothing for the safety of their men.
“No one is normally allowed to walk on the ground there or disturb it because of the levels of radioactive material still sinking through the soil.
“But the Russians dug down and were even shovelling soil into sandbags to make fortifications which surrounded their bodies with radiation.
“In years, they are likely to start paying the price. Once this material enters the body it never leaves.”
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Alexander Skirta, a 47-year-old engineer, said: “Putin’s commanders might as well have ordered these men to dig their own graves.
“The trenches are next to a ‘hot spot’ marked by a radiation warning sign in the Red Forest — the most contaminated ground in the world.
“The deeper you dig, the more radioactive material you find, because it sinks into the ground over years.
“And the more you disturb the earth, the danger increases as the radiation levels rise.
“These animals came here to terrorise people so I have no sympathy for them. They deserve to suffer — and in the years to come, they will.”
During our visit, we were ordered not to walk on or touch any disturbed earth.
Roads around the site, where visitors are routinely decontaminated on leaving, are still littered with bullet casings from the occupation.
Around 2,500 troops and tanks swept in on February 24 and held Chernobyl until being ordered to pull out on March 31. Columns of armour and men churned up the ground.
These animals came here to terrorise people so I have no sympathy for them. They deserve to suffer — and in the years to come, they will.
Russian attack helicopters also ignored the permanent no-fly zone over the site as radiation levels rocketed to eight times normal levels.
Chernobyl lies at the centre of a 1,000-square-mile exclusion zone and just seven miles from Ukraine’s northern border with ally Belarus.
The Red Forest — named after the colour of the pine trees which absorbed deadly ionising radiation — was more polluted by the fallout from the accident than any other area.
Plant personnel were forced at gunpoint by Russians to keep working.
Security engineer Valerii Semenov told how the power to the protective dome over the blitzed reactor was cut.
The move, which stopped coolant being pumped over radioactive fuel rods, sparked panic.
Around 170 Ukraine National Guard soldiers were locked in an underground bunker for a month with no access to natural light or fresh air.
All have vanished and their fate is unclear.
Locals also told us how gun-toting Russians plundered shops and homes for alcohol, cigarettes and food.
Retired engineer Leonid Struk, 63, said: “The invasion was terrifying — the soldiers looted, taking all they could find.
Vodka and cigarettes were ransacked but they also grabbed food. They were like savages.”
Chernobyl had built up a burgeoning tourist trade in recent years.
But the site is deemed too dangerous to reopen and The International Atomic Energy Agency is planning to send a team to investigate.
Tour guide Oksana Pyshna, 28, told The Sun: “The tourist trade has been destroyed overnight by the Russians.
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“Workers who saw them coming out of their trenches said many had skin rashes and red eyes, which are sure signs of exposure to radiation. It shows what kind of men command Putin’s army — they have no thought for human life. We can only pray they never come back.”
Meanwhile, Russia has lost another colonel and a sharpshooter in Ukraine. Lt-Col Denis Sukhanov, 41, is the 43rd colonel to have died. Sgt Sergei Tsarkov, 38, was hailed by colleagues as the “best sniper”.
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