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the nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhya, the largest plant of its kind in Europe, is once again a source of tension and fear. Both Russia and Ukraine accused each other Tuesday of conspiring to stage an attack on the power plant that has long been under attack and suspicion in the midst of the war.
LOOK: Is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant really in danger and what can happen if it explodes?
The Ukrainian army warned of a “possible provocation” by the Russians in the area of the nuclear power plant, which has been in the hands of Russian troops since March 2022. The president of that country, Volodymyr Zelensky, explained that Moscow forces located “explosive-like objects” on the roofs of the plant.
Russia, for its part, warned of the risk of a “subversive act” by kyiv with “catastrophic consequences.” The spokesman of the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov. He accused kyiv of having demonstrated on “multiple occasions” its ability to “be ready for anything.”
Although the Ukrainian army affirmed this Thursday, the 6th, that tensions are “decreasing” around the nuclear plant, the alarm persists since the Zaporizhzhia plant is located near the southern front of the Ukrainian troops, which have been in the middle of a counteroffensive since the beginning of June. In this phase of the conflict, the Ukrainians are also aiming to recapture the plant.
Trade He spoke about it with Román Ortiz, an expert analyst in international security, who believes that Russia could be looking to cause a nuclear accident in its search to stop the Ukrainian offensive.
—What are the risks facing the Zaporizhzhia plant at the moment? How vulnerable is he?
According to the latest information, it appears that Russia may be mining some key elements of the plant. Consequently, the vulnerability exists to the extent that the plant can be demolished by the Russian Armed Forces. There is enough information to suggest that Russia may be thinking of damaging the infrastructure.
—What specific threats does the ongoing counteroffensive pose to the nuclear power plant?
The fundamental problem is that Russia is trying to stop the Ukrainian offensive. That means that it seeks to block the Ukrainian advance on the line of defense and to do that it is trying not only to build obstacles or lay minefields, but to set up as many obstacles as possible to an eventual Ukrainian advance. He already did that with the blowing up of the dam near Kherson. In a way, what he did in this case was destroy a civilian infrastructure with the aim of creating an obstacle to make it difficult for Ukraine to take advantage of that axis of advance.
—What could be the Russian strategy in the case of the Zaporizhzhia plant?
In the case of this plant, what Russia could be looking for is to cause a nuclear accident, contaminate a sector of Ukrainian territory in such a way that it would be theoretically disabled and a scenario is created in which Ukrainian troops cannot pass through that sector. . That is the risk.
—How likely do you see Russia moving in that direction and opting for a major nuclear accident?
There are a number of factors that make it doubtful that Russia would dare to do such a thing. One of them is that this would generate enormous international rejection. If Russia definitively attacks or destroys a civilian nuclear infrastructure causing a nuclear accident, that would generate a great international rejection.
Secondly, if Russia were to go for such an act, which would ultimately be an unprecedented war crime, that could also affect its own troops and its own civilian population to the extent that it is very difficult to calculate or control, a Every time a nuclear accident occurs, in what direction or in what way the radioactivity will affect the areas close to the disaster.
The third thing that seems important to me is that the fact that it contaminated a sector of the front does not necessarily imply that the contamination was strong enough to block a possible Ukrainian military advance. So there are factors that make it doubtful that Russia will go ahead with an action of these characteristics.
—Is there also fear for the other nuclear power plants in Ukraine at this time of the war?
There is a high risk as Russia is systematically attacking civilian infrastructure. In other words, it is not respecting a basic principle of the law of war, which is to exclude attacks on civilian infrastructure. On the other hand, it is carrying out an indiscriminate bombardment, with which there is a risk that as part of its campaign against civilian infrastructure it may also decide to premeditately affect nuclear facilities. But even if it was not premeditated, it could be that an accidental bombing could cause a similar effect and end up affecting a nuclear infrastructure.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
