Shutdown the only way to ensure safety at Astravyets plant – Belarus opposition figure

The politician was the first one to publish information about the latest incident at the Astravyets utility on social media. The message was soonpicked up by local and foreign media.

“Unless we, Lithuania and other people who care and understand where this could lead to do something to close the project – nothing will happen, believe me,” Ulasevich said in an interview to BNS from Astravyets on Tuesday evening.

He said that before publishing the information he had received two weeks earlier, he made sure it was accurate and not a provocation.

He had received confirmations from ten different sources, including people working at the Astravyets construction site, he said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Belarusian Energy Ministry officially confirmed that an “extreme situation” had occurred at the Astravyets nuclear site.

The Belarusian opposition figure said that the body of a nuclear reactor tumbled in Astravyets during the incident.

“They were attaching the body of the reactor, and this was an attempt on Sunday (July 10), as on Monday (July 11) they planned an official display for the national television, and then this happened,” Ulasevich said.

“I received an update this morning that the reactor’s body did not fall from 2-4 meters but, instead, from a much higher altitude – from nearly 10 meters, so the reactor should now be scrapped – it is clear to me, although I am not a specialist. Specialists are also clear that the reactor should be sent to the scrapyard,” the Belarusian politician said on Tuesday.