Predicting Putin is difficult at best. However, Chernobyl may have been captured simply because it's on one of the shortest paths to Kyiv. It may also be that

Predicting Putin is difficult at best. However, Chernobyl may have been captured simply because it's on one of the shortest paths to Kyiv. It may also be that the exclusion zone is a bit safer for troops to travel through than the surrounding areas. Residual radiation is nowhere nearly as deadly as a pissed off Ukrainian with an RPG. Also, Russians camped out in the exclusion zone probably don't have to worry about artillery or drone strikes. Ukrainian forces know better. If you're worried about nuclear catastrophe, the taking of the Zaporizhzhia power plant is far more concerning. Russians hit one of the buildings with rocket fire. It turned out to be a training building and not one of the reactors. We have to ask if that was deliberate or if everyone (the Russians included) just got lucky. Taking this power plant gave Russian forces control over a quarter of Ukraine's power generation, which has obvious strategic value. Ukrainian forces are also unlikely to counter-attack directly, for obvious reasons, so it should be easy for the Russians to hold. Finally, taking this plant hostage dealt a huge psychological blow to a country that remembers the Chernobyl incident.