By Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey

(Reuters] – Liudmyla Kzak, a nuclear engineer was halfway through a 12-hour night shift at Chornobyl’s defunct plant. On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine and workers heard explosions around the perimeter of what is known as the “exclusion zone”.

Kozak, along with her coworkers, realized that they would be relieved by the next shift that day when the military planes flew overhead.

Mid-afternoon we saw that uninvited guests had begun to creep in,” Kozak (45), told Reuters in Slavutych. This is a small town close to the Belarusian border, where Chornobyl employees live.

Workers were set to see the most shocking events at the plant’s history since 1986, when the nuclear accident occurred. A vigil was held in Slavutych for the 36th anniversary of the incident on Tuesday.

Russian forces had defeated Ukrainian troops around the radioactive plant and were able to retake control by evening. This was part of Moscow’s land, air, and sea assault against Ukraine, which was the most serious attack on an European country since World War Two.

After long negotiations, they captured us and allowed us to return to work. Kozak stated that the authorities said they could work together and would not bother them. “We followed their orders trying to not contradict or get into conflict. We didn’t want to cause bigger conflicts.

Over the course of days, both the International Atomic Energy Agency and Ukraine repeatedly demanded the release from their exhausted employees, who manage radioactive waste facilities.

Kozak stated that Russian troops had used the facility located on the territory of the plant as an attack base closer to Kyiv (100 km / 62 miles).

They went to Kyiv to do some shooting. After that, they came back to their plant to rest, have a shower, wash the dishes, and then go to Kyiv once again.” She added that many weapons and other military equipment were kept at Chornobyl.

Reuters couldn’t independently verify the account. Ukraine warned that Russian forces could have brought weapons and ammunition to the exclusion area, the region around Chornobyl where they were occupying the plant. This is the zone which is usually closed off to those who don’t work there or do not have an exemption due to radiation risk.

The sudden power surge that occurred during a reactor testing resulted to the demise of Unit 4, which was located at Chornobyl. According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, massive quantities of radioactive material were released into the atmosphere by the accident and subsequent fire. Britannica described it as the greatest nuclear disaster in history.

Kozak didn’t see the Russian troops withdrawing at the end March. Prior to that, she was allowed to leave the plant with other workers after spending 25 days there.

She said, “My shift was 600 hours rather than 12” with a tired smile.