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The consequences of radiation contamination associated with the flooding of the “Yunkom” nuclear mine in the Donetsk region will affect not only the Donbass, but also the Russian regions, said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories from Ukraine, Aleksey Reznikov.
Donbass is on the brink of an ecological disaster due to radiation pollution. The Deputy Prime Minister – Minister for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories said this today during the Kiev Special Forum on Security From Ukraine Alexey Reznikov, correspondent for the “GORDON” publication reports.
“Donbass is on the brink of an environmental disaster. And not only because of air pollution, soil, munitions explosions and mining. There is also nuclear pollution. Few people know about it, but in 1979, on the territory of the mine Yunkom ” [в Донецкой области], which is now in the occupied territories, the Soviet government carried out a 0.3 kiloton nuclear explosion of TNT. After that, the capsule was left in the mine, but the water was constantly pumped to prevent radiation from entering the ground and water. Two years ago, the occupation authorities stopped pumping water and radiation is already entering the drinking water horizon, ”said the minister.
The pumping of water from several dozen other mines has also stopped. According to Reznikov, in a few months this will lead to an environmental disaster not only in the occupied Donbass, but also in the southern regions of the Rostov region of the Russian Federation.
The minister said that in early October he spoke with the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, and asked him to carry out an examination by the monitoring mission.
“As of today, the question of whether the Russian representatives will allow the monitoring group to enter the occupied territories remains a question … I hope that the observers will get there and record the situation with radioactive contamination,” Reznikov emphasized.
According to him, a similar situation developed in the annexed Crimea. According to experts, radioactive contamination threatens the waters of the Sea of Azov. The consequences can affect not only Crimea, but also the entire Black Sea region: Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Turkey.
Reznikov summarized that the cause of all these dangerous consequences is Russian aggression.
On September 16, 1979, an underground nuclear explosion with a yield of 0.2 to 0.3 kilotons of TNT was carried out in the east wing of the Yunkom mine to reduce the stress on the coal seams.
On March 24, 2018, the separatist-controlled publication DNR Live reported that the flooding of the Yunkom mine would begin on April 14.
“According to the institutes, the liquidation of the mine with its complete flooding will not cause any environmental consequences and the influence of radioactive substances on the surface and in neighboring mines,” said Aleksey Smyslov, spokesman for the so-called coal ministry of the terrorist “DPR” . The publication cites the results of an “investigation by scientists”, which allegedly showed that the current radiation situation at the coal company corresponds to the natural radiation background, the termination of the water pumping at the Yunkom mine will not lead to release of radionuclides to the earth’s surface, groundwater and surface waters.
The head of the Department of Environmental Safety and Mine Action of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Maxim Komissarov, said that the flooding of the mine is very dangerous and could have catastrophic consequences for the region.
The United States asked Russia to explain the intention of the militants in Donbas to flood a radioactive mine.
After the annexation of Crimea, Russia launched an armed aggression in eastern Ukraine. The fighting is between the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the one hand, and the Russian army and the Russian-backed militants who control parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, on the other. The Russian Federation does not officially recognize its invasion of Ukraine, despite the facts and evidence presented by Ukraine.
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