Chornobyl worker recalls 600-hour shift at nuclear plant under Russian occupation

Liudmyla Kozak, Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant engineer, who was under Russian captivity at the plant during 25 days, poses for a picture in the town of Slavutych, Ukraine April 25, 2022. Picture taken April 25, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

(Reuters) - Nuclear engineer Liudmyla Kozak was part-way through a 12-hour overnight shift at the defunct Chornobyl plant when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 and workers heard loud explosions from the edge of the so-called exclusion zone around the site.

As military planes zipped overhead and the sound of fighting grew nearer, Kozak and her colleagues realised that the next shift of workers would not arrive to relieve them as scheduled that morning.