Chernobyl

Norway announced today that the elevated levels of radioactive cesium (Cs-137) detected near the border with Russia in the Arctic are likely due to a forest fire near Chernobyl in Ukraine, the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident.

On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed a catastrophic event that would leave an indelible mark on history. In the heart of Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant became the epicenter of a tragedy that would reverberate for decades to come.

Türkiye has slammed Israel for using a narrative over nuclear weapons in the context of the ongoing Israeli offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza and called for the denuclearization of the Middle East to avoid a possible nuclear arms race.

Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Oblast military Administration appointed by Ukraine, recently warned that the detonation of explosives would lead to a catastrophe worse than the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, the Kyiv Post writes.

Day 463 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Germany will shut down its three remaining nuclear plants on Saturday, betting that it can fulfil its green ambitions without atomic power despite the energy crisis caused by the Ukraine war.

As the costs of importing energy soars worldwide and climate crises wreak havoc, interest in nuclear power is on the rise with nations scrambling to find alternative sources.    

Investment in nuclear power declined after Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster, the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986, as fears over its safety increased and governments ran scared.    

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed that independent inspectors can travel to the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the French presidency said on Aug. 19, as fears grow over fighting near the site.

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned on Aug. 18 of a nuclear disaster in Ukraine during his first face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia's invasion began, echoing pleas from the U.N.'s chief.

The video shows a cloud of smoke coming from the direction of the power plant, according to eyewitnesses.
Reuters writes that the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, therefore proposed that the power plant in Zaporizhzhia declare part of the area around it a demilitarized zone.