Chernobyl Roulette Quotes

“But the most depressing aspect of the occupation was the operators’ seemingly endless shift. A press release issued by the administration of the plant in Slavutych decried the situation. It read: “A shift at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant lasts twelve hours. Throughout that time the personnel are constantly at their workplaces (at a control board, at a computer, using equipment, and the like). At present, the Chernobyl personnel who find themselves on the premises of the occupied station are beginning their twelfth shift, that is, they have actually spent almost 144 hours at their workplaces.”
― Serhii Plokhy, Chernobyl Roulette: A War Story

“Tomorrow you are going to Ukraine to fuck up some shit,” a Russian commander told Corporal Nikita Chabin, a twenty-seven-year-old soldier in a unit posted on the Belarusian- Ukrainian border. The “shit” happened to be radioactive. That task force moved not only between the Chernobyl exclusion zone and the Prypiat marshes to the west of it but also through the exclusion zone itself.”
― Serhii Plokhy, Chernobyl Roulette: A War Story

“The facility that exploded at Chernobyl was a Soviet-made RBMK, or high-power channel reactor. It could enrich uranium and produce plutonium for nuclear bombs as easily as it could produce electricity. The peculiarities and weaknesses of its design were kept secret even from its operators, which was one of the key reasons for the accident. Pressed to fulfill their production quotas and knowing nothing about the inherent dangers of the reactor, the operators would often cut corners, ignoring regulations and instructions in order to meet their targets. On April 26 they cut one corner too many.”
― Serhii Plokhy, Chernobyl Roulette: A War Story

“In our time disaster, wherever it may occur, affects absolutely everyone,” argued Zelensky. “This is proved by the explosion at the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station, which caused suffering not only in Ukraine but in dozens of countries. This tragedy also shows us another truth: the most effective measure for reviving the environment is noninterference by human beings. In Chernobyl, nature is reviving much more quickly than expected. It seems to be suggesting: people, the best way to help is not to interfere.”
― Serhii Plokhy, Chernobyl Roulette: A War Story

“According to Milley’s map, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the exclusion zone were on the path of the main Russian thrust toward Kyiv, but the map suggested that the Russians would bypass the zone. That appeared to be the most plausible scenario. Why would anyone of sound mind send troops into a nuclear disaster zone?”
― Serhii Plokhy, Chernobyl Roulette: A War Story