---
title: "Russian Military Reportedly Panics, Flees Chernobyl After Radiation Poisoning"
description: "Ukraine officials are now saying that the Russian military is making a hasty retreat from Chernobyl nuclear after troops suffered radiation poisoning there."
date: "2022-04-01"
modified: "2022-04-01"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/russian-military-reportedly-flees-chernobyl"
categories:
  - "Military"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "chernobyl"
  - "Russia"
  - "the digest"
  - "ukraine"
---

# Russian Military Reportedly Panics, Flees Chernobyl After Radiation Poisoning

![Ukraine officials are now saying that the Russian military is making a hasty retreat from Chernobyl nuclear after troops suffered radiation poisoning there.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/russian-military-reportedly-flees-chernobyl.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Getty Images/Futurism\</em\>*

## Nuclear Decay

In yet another dramatic twist to the saga of the Russian invasion of Ukraine's impact on nuclear power infrastructure, Ukraine officials are now saying that the Russian military is making a hasty retreat from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site after troops suffered radiation poisoning there.

Ukraine state-owned utility outfit Energoatom said that Russian forces had been exposed to "significant doses" of radiation at the site, [according to *The Guardian*](<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/01/russians-fled-chernobyl-with-radiation-sickness-says-ukraine-as-iaea-investigates>), and "panicked at the first sign of illness" which had "showed up very quickly."

To be clear, it remains somewhat hazy exactly what has gone down at Chernobyl since [Russia seized it](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ukraine-russian-invasion-chernobyl-reactor>) during the early days of the invasion, with Ukraine likely trying to craft a narrative of maximum incompetence on behalf of Russian authorities. But the ongoing spectacle — as well as the uncertainty surrounding it — does represent a sobering reminder of the liability posed by aging and derelict infrastructure when two nuclear powers become entangled in an armed conflict.

## Hot Potato

The latest claims come after a tragedy of errors at the melted down facility. Ukraine officials have already accused Russia of [impeding efforts to fight fires](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/fires-chernobyl-power-plant>) near the site, [letting the power go out there](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/chernobyl-meltdown-site-loses-power-russian-invasion>), of [seizing or allowing dirty bomb materials](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/dirty-bomb-ingredients-reportedly-stolen-chernobyl>) to be looted from a nearby facility, and [destroying a lab that monitored radiation levels](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ukraine-russia-destroyed-lab-chernobyl>).

Even more recently, Ukrainian officials said this week that Russian soldiers had [ignored warnings against entering a restricted area](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/chernobyl-russia-forbidden-radioactive-dust>) near the site — "nobody goes there... for God's sake" said the Chernobyl acting director — without protective equipment and inhaling radioactive dust. After that event, officials [said that Russian troops had suffered radiation poisoning](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/russian-troops-radiation-poisoning-chernobyl>).

After the most recent claims, the director general of the International Atomic Energy [pledged to head a mission](<https://twitter.com/rafaelmgrossi/status/1509832578408329217>) to the plant to provide "assistance and support." But some are expressing skepticism, with Union of Concerned Scientists nuclear expert Edwin Lyman [telling the *Associated Press*](<https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-united-states-nato-5863ad1d740cdd04ba42a25de0d31449>) that it "seems unlikely" that a large number of Russian troops would have suffered radiation poisoning.

**More on nuclear power:** [*Nuclear Power Used to Seem Like the Future. Now Its Fate in the US Is in Question.*](<https://futurism.com/nuclear-energy-future>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)