Militants from the self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ [DPR] are ignoring local residents, the Ukrainian government and international warnings, and flooding the Yunkom (Yuny Komynar) former coal mine which was used for a nuclear test in 1979. The scale of radioactive contamination of soil and water sources could prove catastrophic.
Staff at the Yunkom mine in Bunhe told the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission that some of the mine’s pumps would be shut down on 14 April. This will lead to the gradual flooding of the mine, including the capsule in which a nuclear device was detonated on 16 September, 1979. Although nobody knows how the capsule will react underwater, the risk of major contamination throughout Ukraine’s independence was always considered much too high and pumps were constantly repaired to keep the mineshaft dry.
