That's all for the live blog today. See you again tomorrow!
11:3615.4.2020
Good morning. We'll get the live blog started today with an update on the Chernobyl situation from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service:
Ukrainian Official Says Wildfires In Chernobyl Area Extinguished
DYTYATKY, Ukraine -- Emergency crews have extinguished wildfires that had been burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The acting director of Ukraine's State Ecology Inspection, Yehor Firsov, said in a statement on Facebook on April 14 that after 10 days, firefighters had managed to finally extinguish the blaze.
"In short, the fire was extinguished. The rain helped a lot. The level of the radiation background is permanently being measured, but according to the data we have, in general, everything is normal," Firsov wrote.
Firsov's Facebook statement came hours after Viktoria Ruban, spokeswoman for the Kyiv regional directorate of the State Emergency Situations Service, told reporters at the Dytyatky checkpoint near the Chernobyl restricted zone that the situation has been complicated by heavy winds in the area.
How Ukrainian Firefighters Battled Wildfires Around Chernobyl
1/18Wildfires burn in the 30-kilometer Chernobyl exclusion zone on April 10, not far from the defunct nuclear power plant. The acting director of Ukraine's State Ecology Inspection, Yehor Firsov, said on April 14 that firefighters had managed to finally extinguish the blaze.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
2/18A fire burns in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant outside the village of Rahivka on April 5.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
3/18Ukrainian firefighters battle flames near the village of Rahivka on 10 April.The fires began on April 3 in the western part of the uninhabited exclusion zone before spreading to nearby forests.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
4/18An aerial view shows a forest fire in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 12. Ukraine's National Police said they had detained two people suspected of setting the initial fire.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
5/18This aerial picture taken on April 12 shows the aftermath of a forest fire not far from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
6/18A column of smoke rises from the wildfire near the Chernobyl plant on April 10. Greenpeace Russia warned that fires blazing through the exclusion zone were much larger than authorities in Kyiv were admitting and that they posed a radiation risk.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
7/18Smoke and flames gave the forest in the exclusion zone an eerie orange glow on April 10. Officials with Ukraine's Emergency Situations Service said that radiation in the region and in the capital, Kyiv, was within "permissible" levels.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
8/18Ukrainian firefighters near the village of Rahivka. More than 400 firefighters were trying to extinguish the flames since April 3.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
10/18The view from the roof of the Chernobyl nuclear power station on April 10. Greenpeace Russia said one blaze was just a kilometer from the defunct plant.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
11/18A satellite image from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) shows the area of fire nearby Chernobyl. The Chernobyl power plant sarcophagus is seen as a silver rectangular object on the left of the map. Red and orange squares indicate the location of fires on April 13.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
12/18A Geiger counter showed an increase in radiation levels near the village of Volodymyrivka in the exclusion zone around Chernobyl on April 5.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
13/18Nearly 100 firefighting vehicles were being used to battle the wildfires.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
14/18A house burns in the village of Stara Markivka, Poliske district, that was inhabited by squatters, in the exclusion zone on April 9. Many abandoned villages burnt down in the area.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
15/18Three planes and three helicopters were used to drop water on the wildfires. According to the Emergency Situations Service, more than 530 tons of water were dropped on the fires as of April 13.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
16/18Heavy machinery plowed more than 100 kilometers of land in order to stop the spread of fire.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
17/18This aerial picture taken on April 12 shows a forest fire burning in the 30-kilometer Chernobyl exclusion zone.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
18/18Burned trees were left by the forest fire outside the settlement of Poliske on April 12. A senior official from the emergency service, Volodymyr Demchuk, said that the fire did not pose a threat to the nuclear power plant.
For 10 days, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters battled wildfires burning near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Environmental experts had warned the wildfires could throw up radioactive ash from the site of one the world's worst nuclear accidents.
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The day before, the fire had approached the ghost city of Pripyat, which was abandoned by all residents in April 1986 after the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl.
Ruban said that firefighters had managed to stop the fire near Pripyat.
Earlier in the day, the Emergency Situations Service said that firefighting operations in the area were under way, adding that radiation in the region and in the capital, Kyiv, was within "permissible" levels.
A day earlier, Greenpeace Russia had warned that fires blazing through the exclusion zone are much larger than authorities in Kyiv were admitting and that they posed a radiation risk.
The fires began on April 3 in the western part of the uninhabited exclusion zone before spreading to nearby forests.
The National Police said they have detained two people suspected of setting the initial fire.
