Ukrainian soldiers conducted tactical drills and exercises in an abandoned city near the notorious Chernobyl nuclear power plant Friday as their countrymen live with the possibility of an invasion by thousands of Russian troops. Soldiers dressed in tactical gear practiced firing a mortar launcher and participated in crisis situation exercises in Pripyat, which had a population of around 50,000 when it was evacuated after a deadly meltdown at the nearby plant in April 1986 — an event dramatized in the acclaimed 2019 HBO miniseries “Chernobyl.”Pripyat is roughly 10 miles from the border with Belarus, where up to 30,000 Russian troops are expected to take part in military exercises later this month. Western officials fear the exercises could provide cover for an invasion by Moscow, either directly or through Belarussian territory.
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