Polish officials have started handing out anti-radiation tablets nationwide, as fears grow of nuclear exposure triggered by the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
Fire departments have been handed the tablets as a response to the current fighting around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest – which has raised fears of a nuclear disaster.
Officials described the move as a ‘preventative’ and ‘preemptive’ measure.
Polish officials have started handing out anti-radiation tablets nationwide, as fears grow of nuclear exposure triggered by the war in neighbouring Ukraine
‘We decided on a preventative, preemptive move to start distributing potassium iodide tablets to district fire departments,’ Deputy Interior Minister Blazej Pobozy told reporters.
He said it was a routine initiative ‘in case of a potential radiation threat, which… at the moment does not exist.’
The tablets will be transferred to local authorities and eventually end up at distribution points – schools in most cases – where residents will pick them up if need be.
He said there were enough doses for everyone who would require them.
Fire departments have been handed the tablets as a response to the current fighting around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (pictured) – Europe’s largest – which has raised fears of a nuclear disaster
The tablets will be transferred to local authorities and eventually end up at distribution points – schools in most cases – where residents will pick them up if need be
Six power units generate 40-42 billion kWh of electricity – making the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant the largest nuclear power plant not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe
The nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine has six power units which generate 40-42 billion kWh of electricity – making the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant the largest nuclear power plant not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe.
The medical representative at the press conference, Doctor Wojciech Zgliczynski, cautioned against taking anti-radiation tablets except when necessary.
He added that children, youths, pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers were most at risk of getting cancer from exposure to radiation.
Pobozy said the potassium iodide tablets were a preventative measure in case of a nuclear accident but would not help in response to a tactical nuclear weapon attack.
Under that scenario ‘entirely different isotypes are released, ones against which there is unfortunately no tablet to protect us,’ he told reporters.
He stressed however that compared to a nuclear accident, an attack was ‘even less likely’.
Polish medical representative, Pobozy, said the potassium iodide tablets were a preventative measure in case of a nuclear accident but would not help in response to a tactical nuclear weapon attack
This move comes amid Vladimir Putin’s latest nuke threat, off the back of his raging speech today.
After announcing he has annexed four Ukrainian regions to Russia in a blistering Kremlin speech, he then vowed to ‘smash’ the West and liberate the world, raising fears he is gearing up to deploy Moscow’s huge nuclear arsenal.
The Russian despot declared that ‘millions of people’ had ‘opted’ to become vassals of Russia in sham referendums – saying they ‘are our people, forever’ to a standing ovation in the Kremlin’s grand Georgian Hall from his cronies, including Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, defence minister Sergei Shoigu, and staunch ally Dmitry Medvedev.
He then gave a blistering speech during which he suggested that the US had set a ‘precedent’ for using nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hinting that he could be considering his own atomic strike – either against Ukraine or its allies.
Vladimir Putin has announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions to Russia during a speech at the Kremlin, in which he also delivered a blistering tirade against the West
The speech was delivered inside the Kremlin’s grand Georgian Hall in front of hundreds of Putin’s henchmen, including the likes of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, and spy chief Sergey Naryshkin
The rest of his address was a screed in which he mentioned: The Vietnam war, the Opium Wars, the First and Second World War, Goebbels, Satanism, sex changes and homosexuality. He decried what he called ‘neo-colonialism’, vowed to ‘smash Western hegemony’, and spoke of Russia’s ‘destiny’ to liberate the world.
Reaction was swift. President Zelensky, who has vowed never to respect the annexation, declared that Ukraine will officially apply to join NATO and will not negotiate with Russia so long as Putin is in power. Joe Biden called the annexation ‘fraudulent’. Prime Minister Liz Truss said Britain ‘will ensure [Putin] loses this illegal war.’ The EU said it ‘unequivocally condemns’ Putin’s actions.
Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister who became an iconic figure to Ukraine, branded Putin’s speech a ‘disgrace’ and vowed the UK will stand with Ukraine ‘without flinching until their country is whole and free.’
Putin’s promise to protect his ‘new territories’ will be put to an almost-immediate test as thousands of Russian troops are currently thought to be encircled in Lyman, in the Donetsk region, with the city on the verge of falling and the troops either being captured or killed in the process – possibly within the next few hours.
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