Russian troops leave Chernobyl as Zelensky warns of 'battles ahead'

A satellite image of the Chernobyl nuclear plant on March 10, 2022.
(Image credit: Satellite image (c) 2022 Maxar Technologies)

More than a month after taking over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Russian troops have left the site, giving control back to local officials, Ukrainian authorities said early Friday.

The world's worst-ever nuclear disaster took place at Chernobyl in 1986, and Ukraine's state power company, Energoatom, said the Russian troops were exposed to "significant doses" of radiation while digging trenches around the plant. The Associated Press notes there has not been independent confirmation of this claim.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.