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WP: Russians stole more than $ 135 million worth of equipment and irreplaceable software from Chornobyl nuclear laboratories

Author:
Julia Sheredeha
Date:

Russian occupying forces stole 698 computers, 344 cars, 1,500 radiation dosimeters, irreplaceable software, and almost all fire extinguishers from the Chornobyl nuclear laboratories.

This was reported by The Washington Post.

The list of what the Russians stole, blew up, or damaged with bullets in and around the Chornobyl laboratories is still being compiled.

Although the catastrophe, which many feared, was averted, Chornobyl officials are counting the damage done during the month the Russians were there, during which nine of their colleagues were killed and five abducted.

The huge Chornobyl nuclear power plant is no longer producing electricity, but before the invasion, nearly 6,000 workers were still watching the long-term aftermath of the catastrophic accident more than three decades ago, as well as reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from other plants in Ukraine and Europe.

The total cost of the loss is estimated at more than $ 135 million. However, custom-made software for the station is irreplaceable. According to Mykola Bespalyi, director of the Central Analytical Laboratory, some of the most important work of his laboratory — monitoring the level of radiation in the exclusion zone for signs of bursts — is almost impossible without it.