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Russian troops evacuated from the Chernobyl exclusion zone and rushed to hospital in Belarus after being stricken down with radiation poisoning.
The news comes after one exclusion zone worker told Reuters a convoy of Russian soldiers kicked up clouds of radioactive dust while driving through the ‘Red Forest’ after the invaders seized control of the area.
The troops were said to be ignoring the site's strict rules designed to protect human life and are now gravely ill.
Vast areas around Chernobyl remains off limits to anyone who doesn't have special permission to enter or works within the exclusion zone, but the Red Forest is off limits to all due to its dangerously high levels of radioactive contamination.
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An employee at the Ukrainian state agency overseeing the exclusion zone said ‘irradiated’ Russian soldiers are now being taken by the busload to a specialist hospital in Gomel for critical treatment.
"Another batch of Russian irradiated terrorists who seized the Chernobyl zone was brought to the Belarusian Radiation Medicine Center in Gomel today," Yaroslav Yemelianenko wrote on social media.
"Have you dug trenches in the Red Forest, b***hes? Now live with it for the rest of your short life."
The exclusion zone employee went on to state that the rules are there for a very, very good reason.
"There are rules for dealing with this area," Yemelianenko said.
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"They are mandatory because radiation is physics - it works without regard to status or shoulder straps.
"With minimal intelligence in command or soldiers, these consequences could have been avoided."
Staff within the exclusion zone have previously described Russian troops invading the area as sent on a 'suicide' mission, as their vehicles and equipment had no anti-radiation protection.
In one mind-blowing exchange, one staff member revealed a Russian soldier sent to work at the Chernobyl facility ‘did not have a clue’ about the plant's dark and deadly past.
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"When they were asked if they knew about the 1986 catastrophe, the explosion of the fourth block (of the Chernobyl plant), they did not have a clue," he said.
"They had no idea what kind of a facility they were at. We talked to regular soldiers. All we heard from them was, 'It’s critically important infrastructure'. That was it."
Russian forces quickly took over Chernobyl after the invasion kicked off in February. They held workers captive and made them work for hundreds of hours.
However, they have now handed the facility and exclusion zone back to Ukraine in a massive win for the country.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information.
Rachel Lang