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Russia's anti-satellite test and Chornobyl's fires
Summary
A look back at two reports dated 14 and 15 April 2020, one from orbit-watchers in the United States and one from the Chornobyl exclusion zone.
What did the news from 15 April 2020 show about the region's security and environment? Two reports stood out.
According to United States Space Command, Russia conducted a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile test on 15 April 2020. The command's statement was the public basis for the report.
A day earlier, on 14 April 2020, the scale of the damage in Ukraine became clearer. The most extensive forest fires in the Chornobyl exclusion zone had lasted 10 days. They burned through 3,500 hectares of land.
The two items were unrelated: one concerned military activity beyond the atmosphere, the other a prolonged fire on the ground in northern Ukraine. Taken together, they marked a mid-April in which attention was drawn both upward and to the ground of the exclusion zone.
