The World - News from Dec. 15, 1986

A dozen Soviet soldiers were executed for refusing to expose themselves to radioactivity by fighting fires at the Chernobyl reactor in the Ukraine, a West German newspaper reported. Die Welt am Sonntag said the soldiers were shot because they disobeyed orders assigning them to Chernobyl after the April 26 explosion and fire at the nuclear plant. It attributed its report, which could not be confirmed, to unidentified Western intelligence agencies. The newspaper also said that the helicopters that took part in fighting the fires are no longer in service, and added, “The crews have vanished without a trace.”