BUCHAREST, Romania - Poland, concerned about fighting around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, has distributed iodine tablets to regional fire departments to give to people in the event of radioactive exposure, a deputy minister said on Thursday.
Iodine is considered a way of protecting the body against conditions such as thyroid cancer in case of radioactive exposure.
Shelling at the site of Zaporizhzhia - Europe's biggest nuclear power plant - had damaged buildings close to its six reactors and cut power cables, risking a nuclear catastrophe that would affect neighboring countries. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the shelling around the plant.
'After the media reports about battles near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant we decided...ahead of time to take proactive action to distribute iodine', deputy interior minister Blazej Pobozy told private broadcaster Radio Zat.
'I would like to reassure all citizens that these are routine, pre-emptive actions that are to protect us in the event of a situation which...I hope will not happen', he added.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put former Soviet satellite states on edge, and President Vladimir Putin's threat of using nuclear weapons has already sent residents scrambling to stock up on iodine in the war's earlier stages.
Russia's military fired nine missiles on the city of Zaporizhzhia, hitting a hotel and a power station, regional governor Olekandr Starukh said on Thursday.
Zaporizhzhia is about 50 kms (31 miles) from the nuclear plant of the same name.
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