Ukraine shrugs off Y2K fears despite Chernobyl
Date: 16-Sep-99
Country: UKRAINE
Concerns about the possible effect of millennium bugs in Ukraine have
focused on the safety of its five nuclear stations, including Chernobyl,
where a reactor exploded in 1986 in the world's worst civil nuclear
disaster.
But officials say the millennium bug could threaten only secondary
computer programmes at Chernobyl and that all five stations are
undergoing a safety audit by foreign experts.
At a news briefing, presidential spokesman Olexander Martynenko did not
address the nuclear problem specifically but said the situation overall
was under control.
"The problem is under the control of the president and
government...Computer experts say in countries where there is not yet
full computerisation such as Ukraine that this problem is not as
critical as in more developed countries.
"In the near future the Security and Defence Council will hold a press
briefing at which they will calm foreign tourists so that they do not
think it will be the end of the world here on January 1, 2000."
Millennium-time blackouts and chilly apartments might dampen holiday
spirits, as two reports published separately by the United States and
Britain warned on Tuesday.
But Ukraine is not the worst culprit in the lineup of millennium bug
rogues, Martynenko said. "The list of New Year consequences in Russia is
twice as long," he said.
"So against that background, which is indeed quite dangerous in the
countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Ukraine looks
no worse but also no better than other countries."
The U.S. and British reports said most key sectors in Ukraine could be
vulnerable to Y2K problems, which experts believe will be triggered if
older computers read 2000 as 1900 and malfunction or shut down.