Nuclear plant crew warns of "another Chernobyl" under Putin

A power plant specialist in his forties, who chose to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of his position at the facility, told The Daily Beast he feels duty-bound to remain in the city despite the danger, fearing a worse fate for his country and the world should Ukrainians abandon the city.

“I’m staying because I don’t want another Chernobyl,” he said from a humanitarian center in Enerhodar, referring to the 1986 nuclear disaster in Ukraine’s north, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time. “The difference is that Chernobyl was six times smaller than the power plant we now have. Should something happen to this one, it will be a disaster for the whole world. Work is work and I feel responsible. Ukrainians must do their job.”…

But other Ukrainian workers are choosing to leave. Thirty-year-old Serhii, an engineer and electricity specialist at the plant, recently quit his job at the plant after eight years, choosing to take his wife and baby daughter to Kyiv. “The shelling has become much worse, and it is no longer safe to stay for me and my family,” Serhii told The Daily Beast.

“Some workers have worked in the plant for generations, like their fathers and grandfathers. They can’t imagine their lives without it. But I will not return unless the place is free from occupation.”