Wildfires in area near Chernobyl raise radioactive smoke fears

Kyiv:Wildfires have broken out in the

radioactive forest

that surrounds the

Chernobyl

nuclear plant, an area now controlled by the Russian army, Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday, raising worries that radiation could spread widely in the

smoke

if the fires burned unchecked.

Forest fires are common in the spring and summer in the abandoned zone around the Chernobyl plant, where radiation levels are considerably lower than they were immediately after the 1986 accident but still pose risks. Typically,

Ukraine

sends dozens of fire trucks and hundreds of firefighters.

However, as this year’s fire season begins, the Russian military is occupying the Chernobyl zone, having used the site to advance troops and tanks from

Belarus

toward Kyiv. Any firefighting effort would have to come from

Russia

or Belarus unless Ukrainian firefighters are permitted to cross the frontline, an unlikely proposition.