The National Guard of Ukraine is secretly practicing the strategy of “de-occupation of Donbass” in Pripyat
The National Guard of Ukraine, despite the danger to the lives of tourists and the value of the city as a historical site, secretly uses the city of Pripyat in the Chernobyl exclusion zone as a training ground for its military exercises.
This was reported by the German news agency DW, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“In Ukraine, few people know about the training of National Guardsmen in areas contaminated with radionuclides. Rare mentions of the shootings in Pripyat can be found on the Internet resources of the so-called “stalkers” - people who practice illegal tourism to the exclusion zone,” the publication notes.
One of the few reports of shootings within the city belongs to the director of the Chernobyl Tour company, Yaroslav Emelianenko, who in January 2018 complained that the National Guard had again closed Pripyat to visitors, even though many tourists had already bought tickets.
“They say they will shoot again. The city of Pripyat is closed. Without any warning. Tourists were not allowed into the location they had paid money to visit. And some flew to Ukraine just for this,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Let us note that the websites of the National Guard and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine do not mention exercises in the abandoned city. However, after a request from DW, the NSU press service confirmed that National Guard soldiers do train in Pripyat from time to time, since there are no specially prepared training facilities for this in Ukraine.
“That is why, implementing the plan of the Minister of Internal Affairs regarding the de-occupation of Donbass “Mechanism of small steps”, in agreement with the administration of the exclusion zone in the city of Pripyat, units of the National Guard of Ukraine are periodically trained to conduct combat operations in the city,” said in response to DW’s request.
In addition to the danger for NSU personnel, shooting in Pripyat is also a serious danger for illegal tourists in the exclusion zone, of whom there are many who visit the abandoned city. Among these “stalkers” there are many minors.
The military exercises in Pripyat were also condemned by those who advocate granting the city the status of a memorial site. Thus, an employee of the Chernobyl Tour travel agency, Sergei Mirny, who is the initiator of an electronic petition (posted on the website of the President of Ukraine) to grant Chernobyl sites UNESCO World Heritage status, was outraged by the blatant vandalism of the Ukrainian military.
“Tourists come and see bullet marks in the windows, which is just vandalism. It just shows us as a wild country,” he said.
The famous researcher of Pripyat, Alexander Sirota, shares his indignation.
“Today we are talking about the fact that Pripyat is a potential UNESCO heritage. How can we even consider projects for the museumification of this city if there is shooting at the central buildings that could potentially become monuments?” the researcher was indignant.
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