nuclear-news

For the first time in history, nuclear sites have been caught up in the middle of warfare

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, nuclear facilities have been caught
up in the midst of conventional warfare for the first time in history. That
nightmare scenario is one that few of the industry’s players had
anticipated. In Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces represent a
lingering threat to the most basic rules of nuclear security.

On the way to
Chernobyl along the Dnipro River, a two-hour drive from Kyiv, the imprint
left by Russia’s occupation remains, two months after an ordeal that
lasted from the February 24 invasion until March 31. Most bridges have been
destroyed and our driver warns us to stay on the pavement as landmines lurk
beyond. After the invasion, the exclusion zone around Chernobyl – a
30-kilometre radius around the notorious nuclear plant near Ukraine’s
border with Belarus – made global headlines once again.

For some 35 days,
Chernobyl personnel had to abide the Russian soldiers who seemed oblivious
to the dangers inherent in a nuclear site. Those in the civil nuclear
industry believe it is vital to deliberate on the issue of nuclear security
in wartime. Terrorist attack scenarios had been considered in the past. But
in light of the Russian invasion, the matter of adopting international
rules is now on the table. Over the past three months, Ukrainian
authorities have been calling – so far without success – for the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to commit its members to
respecting a five-kilometre perimeter around nuclear facilities inside of
which no military forces can be permitted to penetrate.

 France24 26th May 2022

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220526-should-the-war-in-ukraine-spur-a-nuclear-security-rethink

May 28, 2022 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, Ukraine