KYIV, Ukraine – A day after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of Russia’s potential for sabotage at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, government agencies are taking steps residents can take to prepare for a nuclear disaster.
Although officials urged people to remain calm, in a pharmacy in the capital there was a sharp increase in people looking for potassium iodide pills.
“We’re completely sold out,” said a worker at Wholesale Prices Pharmacy, Denys Yakymenko, adding that one person came in to buy seven boxes of pills in what Mr. Yakymenko saw as panic buying. “Last year, we did the same.”
Another nearby pharmacy attached to a clinic, however, did not see panic buying. Only one person came looking for medicine, workers there said.
Potassium iodide is used to infuse a person’s thyroid with iodine so that the radioactive iodine that is absorbed or ingested after exposure does not remain in the gland. The pills are a way to combat the effects of radiation exposure.
The Ukrainian capital is more than 340 miles from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, but there are many concerns about the safety of the plant, especially these days, and a disaster there could affect a area of hundreds of miles.
On Thursday, Mr. Zelensky said that the Ukrainian intelligence “received information that Russia is considering the scenario of a terrorist act at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – a terrorist act with the release of radiation.”
While Russia denies the accusation, some in Ukraine are bracing for the worst.
Ukrainians have experienced similar fears in the past, as developments in the war have led many to prepare for Russia to target a nuclear power plant or deploy a tactical nuclear weapon. in Ukraine.
Concerns about an accident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant have risen in recent weeks, as Ukraine mounted a counter-offensive in the region and the Kakhovka dam was destroyed in an explosion, driving a reservoir used to feed a key plant cooling pond. The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog warned earlier this week of an “extremely fragile” security situation at the plant.
Then came a cryptic warning Wednesday from Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, that the Russians had mined the cooling pond, a charge denied by Moscow and that UN inspectors at the plant as if they saw no evidence. Finally, Mr. Zelensky raised the alarm on Thursday.
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said in a televised speech on Friday that the government had called engineers, representatives of the state emergency services, police and doctors to prepare for an emergency. -attack or act of sabotage on the plant that may emit radiation. He urged people to remain calm and follow the instructions from the authorities.
“The radioactive background that can be in the air after any events lasts about a day,” he said. “We will reduce the radioactive background by 80 percent within a day.”
Mr. Klymenko said that in case of radiation release or nuclear attack residents who were not ordered to evacuate should lock themselves in their rooms, close the windows and turn off the air conditioners. to limit their exposure to radiation.
“We will clearly give all the instructions and all the rules of conduct at this time,” said Mr. Klymenko.
He also noted that exercises will be held in the coming days to prepare, but added that the equipment for measuring radiation levels in Ukraine is ready for use.
