The Kiev government urged Ukrainians not to panic or stockpile iodine pills after President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russia was planning to stage a radiation release at the Zaporijia nuclear power plant.
Zelensky said this week that Russian forces holding Zaporijia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, were planning a “terrorist attack” by releasing radiation.
The Kremlin said it was a “lie,” but the president’s warning put many Ukrainians on high alert and sent iodine orders up to many pharmacies.
“Read and share, but don’t panic! Don’t play into the enemy’s hands. President Zelensky hasn’t said anything new”the Ukrainian Ministry of Health said late Thursday.
“Russia is a terrorist country where, like a monkey with a grenade, you can expect anything”he added.
In another statement this Friday, the ministry warned of the ill effects of misadministering iodine, adding that it could even be fatal.
Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said authorities are monitoring the situation. “Experts are on hand for different scenarios,” he wrote on social media.
An incident at the Zaporijia nuclear power plant could release radioactive iodine into the atmosphere and in turn increase the risk of thyroid cancer, as happened after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
Pills can help prevent radioactive iodine from building up in the thyroid gland so it can be removed from the body naturally.
“Tired of Being Scared”
There were no signs of panic buying in Kiev’s pharmacies on Friday, but orders for iodine pills soared.
“There is no panic, but everyone is careful,” Maria Dudar, a 21-year-old pharmacist’s assistant, told AFP.
Kyrylo Zalunin, a 37-year-old resident of Kiev, said he saw the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, but was in no hurry to buy iodine. “If someone reacts to all these statements, he can go crazy,” he said.
Another resident of the capital, Oksana Zavgorodnia, said she was not afraid. “We’re tired of being scared. We’re hoping for the best,” the 52-year-old said as she and her husband walked out of a pharmacy.
Fears about the nuclear plant have persisted during the Russian invasion and have increased since the destruction of a dam that supplied cooling water to the plant.
UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi met with the head of Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom in the Russian-European enclave of Kaliningrad on Friday, but no breakthroughs in talks were announced.
Source: DN
