FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Hundreds of emergency workers have been deployed to fight the blazes which have come dangerously close to the site of the notorious 1986 nuclear disaster. Authorities fear the fires could reach abandoned vehicles at the former plant, causing mighty explosions and spreading toxic fumes across the country and the wider region. European countries are also vulnerable, including neighbours Poland, Belarus, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova.

Fires are raging in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and smoke has already reached Kiev

Kateryna Pavlova, a senior official involved in the firefighting, warned the situation was far from under control. She said: "At the moment, we cannot say the fire is contained.” The NASA Earth Observatory said smoke from the fires has already reached Belarus. Aerial footage taken last week showed smoke over the capital Kiev.

A firefighter is seen near the fires in Chernobyl

The Kyiv Post reported authorities in the city had been alerted to multiple fires which broke out in peat bogs and dry grasslands. No injuries were reported. More than 300 firefighters and 85 pieces of equipment have been deployed to stop the flames in the exclusion zone. Three Antonov planes (AN-32P) and two MI-8 helicopters have also been drafted in to drop water. READ MORE: USA handling COVID-19 like Soviet's handled Chernobyl claims doctor

Fire burning not far from Chernobyl exclusion zone, not far from the nuclear power plant

Toxic fumes could spread from Chernobyl in Ukraine to neighbouring European countries

Fire from the radioactive Chernobyl zone approaches the village of Ragovk

Firefighters head to tackle the fires

The 27-year-old reportedly told investigators that he had set grass and rubbish on fire in three places “for fun”. But he said it was not his plan for the small fires to get out of control. He said when the winds picked up and spread the flames he was unable to extinguish the fires.

Smoke from the fires has reached nearby cities

Authorities fear the flames could unleash radiation in the ground in the forests near the Chernobyl reactors. The consequences of the fires would be much more serious if flames reached the former plant, where the worse nuclear disaster in history happened in April 1986. The fires come as Ukraine is dealing with a coronavirus crisis.





Fires have been raging in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone for more than a week

Trending