Two nuclear reactors near Belgrade have been made safe from NATO bombing by the removal of fuel, according to the president of the Russian Nuclear Agency, Mr Valery Mezhuev, writes Seamus Martin.
"There is no doubt that NATO pilots now know exactly where these reactors are situated," he said.
The removal and isolation of the fuel have prevented the possibility of an accidental nuclear explosion, Mr Yevgeny Ryazantsev of the Russian agency told The Irish Times. "The nuclear fuel has been isolated from the reactors. If a bomb did strike the places where the fuel is stored, there would undoubtedly be contamination of the surrounding area but the most important thing is that there would be no chain reaction," he said.
Mr Mezhuev and Mr Ryazantsev refused to specify what type of nuclear reactors they are, but it is known that there are no nuclear power stations in Serbia or Montenegro. Three nuclear plants are situated within a range of 60 to 100 miles of the war zone: one each in Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. Two of the three are Russian-built.
Russia's Lower House of parliament, the State Duma, which is dominated by a Communist-Nationalist coalition, yesterday backed moves to allow Serbia join the proposed political and economic union with Russia and Belarus.