Ukraine is preparing for any possible attacks from Russia, including the most extreme and worst-case scenario, a nuclear attack.
Authorities in Kyiv started publicly distributing potassium iodine pills to its citizens and issuing safety precautions in the event of a nuclear attack. The city council of Ukraine’s capital also started preparing evacuation centers.
Potassium iodide pills work by saturating the thyroid gland with non-radioactive iodine. This prevents the absorption of radioactive iodine, which can lead to thyroid cancer. The medications are most effective when taken within four hours of radiation exposure.
Last month, the European Commission pledged to deliver 5.5 million potassium iodide tablets to Ukraine as a “preventative safety measure,”, especially for residents living near nuclear facilities like Zaporizhzhia. This was also the time when there was a lot of shelling around the Zaporizhzhia Power Plant, and the UN intervened to ensure the facility’s structure was safe.
Janez Lenarcic, Euro bloc’s top official for crisis management, said the plant should never be used as a “war theater.”
“It is unacceptable that civilian lives are put in danger. We will continue to be on the lookout and stand ready to act.”
The more than 5 million pills were part of the 20 million reserves created by the Euro bloc in April as a pre-emptive response to any nuclear threat. When Zaporizhzhia became a hotbed during the Ukraine-Russia confrontation, hundreds of Europeans fled to pharmacies to stockpile iodine pills. And in Belgium, the government provided free iodine tables, and 30,000 were sent out to citizens in a single day, according to Kyiv Post.
In the case of emergency, the block has 15 million tablets ready to be distributed from Germany, while Austria has already sent out 500,000 pills to Ukraine for their national reserves.
