So far, Zaporizhzhya’s nuclear reactors are being managed safely under Russian control
As Russian military forces shelled the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant
(ZNPP) in southern Ukraine on March 4, 2022, a fire broke out on the site.
Among the six reactor units at the complex, auxiliary buildings attached to
the Zaporizhzhya Unit 1 reactor were damaged. Fortunately, the damage did
not threaten the safety of the unit. And a recent assessment by the
International Atomic Energy Agency indicates that, although management of
the plant by a Russian military commander is less than ideal, “regular
staff have continued to operate the Zaporizhzhya [nuclear power plant]”
and “at least 11 representatives of the Russian state [nuclear power]
company Rosatom were also present there, without interfering with the
operation of the nuclear facilities.”
Even so, Russia’s military
attacks on the Zaporizhzhya plant raise great concerns about the
possibility of nuclear accidents. Some experts have suggested the attack on
Zaporizhzhya could have caused a huge catastrophe; others were much more
conservative in their estimates of possible radiation releases from such an
attack. To illustrate the potential damage from a military attack on a
nuclear power plant, we simulated and analyzed hypothetical releases from a
core meltdown and spent fuel pool fire at one unit, Zaporizhzhya 1, if an
attack by missiles or artillery had disabled cooling systems there.
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 23rd March 2022
Could an attack on Ukrainian nuclear facilities cause a disaster greater than Chernobyl? Possibly, simulations show.
The work of Ukraine-based European Institute of Chernobyl.
Chernobyl nuclear power plant: Worker reveals risk of accident as Russians force staff to do 24-hour shifts , i News, By Isabella Bengoechea March 25, 2022
”………………………………………………i has been working with the European Institute of Chernobyl, a Ukraine-based NGO that focuses on research, popularisation and dissemination of information about the Chernobyl disaster through scientific, educational, social and cultural projects and initiatives, with the aim of preventing new nuclear catastrophes happening in future.
The public organisation, which began its work in 2017, also focuses on protecting the rights and interests of participants in the liquidation of the fallout of the Chernobyl accident, as well as citizens affected by the disaster.
Last April, the group launched an information campaign and programme of events to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the disaster. Partnered with the National Museum of Chernobyl, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), groups representing liquidators and former Pripyat [abandoned town nearest to the Chernobyl plant] residents, as well as music and art projects.
Valeriy Korshunov, the founder of the Institute, has criticised the International Atomic Energy Agency for what he sees as an insufficiently robust response to Russia’s aggressive actions against Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
“At the time of the Chernobyl accident there was silence from the Russians, from the Soviet government, they were trying to hide the situation. So in every project about Chernobyl, we’re saying we need to learn the lessons of Chernobyl.
It founded a project in the past year called Help Chernobyl, organising legal benefits, subsidies and medical operations to help the liquidators of the Chernobyl disaster during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last April, the group launched an information campaign and programme of events to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the disaster. Partnered with the National Museum of Chernobyl, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), groups representing liquidators and former Pripyat [abandoned town nearest to the Chernobyl plant] residents, as well as music and art projects.
Valeriy Korshunov, the founder of the Institute, has criticised the International Atomic Energy Agency for what he sees as an insufficiently robust response to Russia’s aggressive actions against Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
“At the time of the Chernobyl accident there was silence from the Russians, from the Soviet government, they were trying to hide the situation. So in every project about Chernobyl, we’re saying we need to learn the lessons of Chernobyl.
“But now we know we haven’t learnt it first time, because we’re seeing similar things now. And Russia and Rosatom are tyring to hide what happened at Chernobyl, what happened at Zaporizhzhya which was shelled and captured by Russia this month.”
“The IAEA must do a lot more in this situation. The shelling of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is an act of nuclear terrorism. The IAEA need to do something about this but they are silent.”
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said this week: “Right now the enemy is trying to seize the Slavutych city and is conducting shelling of the checkpoints. Personnel working at the Chernobyl NPP facilities, as well as at facilities and enterprises located in the Exclusion Zone live in Slavutych.
“The current situation endangers the lives and health of Chernobyl NPP employees and their families, creates significant psychological and moral pressure on operational personnel ensuring nuclear and radiation safety of the Chernobyl NPP facilities, and makes it impossible to ensure the personnel rotation.”
It added: “The information received from the Chornobyl NPP indicates that the operational personnel maintain the safety parameters of the facilities at the NPP site within the standard values. At the same time, the Russian military continue to grossly violate the radiation safety requirements and strict access control procedures at the NPP and in the Exclusion Zone, which leads to deterioration of the radiation situation at the site. https://inews.co.uk/news/inside-chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant-accident-risk-1540986
IAEA concerned that Russia is shelling Ukrainian checkpoints in the city of Slavutych, near Chernobyl
 IAEA concerened that Russia |
Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that
Russian forces were shelling Ukrainian checkpoints in the city of Slavutych
where many people working at the nearby Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)
live, putting them at risk and preventing further rotation of personnel to
and from the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
Ukraine’s regulatory authority said the shelling was endangering “the homes and
families of those operational personnel that ensure the nuclear and
radiation safety” of the Chornobyl NPP, which is under the control of
Russian forces since 24 February.
Slavutych is located outside the
Exclusion Zone that was established around the NPP after the 1986 accident.
Director General Grossi expressed concern about this development, which
comes just a few days after technical staff at the Chornobyl NPP were
finally able to rotate and go to their homes in Slavutych and rest after
working for nearly four weeks without a change of shift, and he said the
IAEA would continue to closely monitor the situation. Staff now working at
the site also come from Slavutych.
IAEA 24th March 2022
International Atomic Energy Agency’s grave concern over safety of Ukraine’s nuclear reactors
| The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has said “we cannot afford to lose any more time” in concluding an agreed framework for ensuring nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. Grossi, who expressed “grave concern” about the situation, has been seeking to secure an agreement with the two sides since meeting the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine two weeks ago in Turkey. He said the IAEA “is ready and able to deploy immediately and provide indispensable assistance for ensuring nuclear safety and security in Ukraine”. World Nuclear News 24th March 2022 https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-ready-to-deploy-to-Ukraine-immediately |
Zelensky ready to negotiate with Russia over NATO and Donbas sovereignty, but Biden won’t budge.
There are questions galore. Principally, if it is so easy to work out a compromise over Russia’s legitimate security demands, especially regarding Ukraine’s NATO membership and the alliance’s further expansion, why was Biden so very stubborn in his refusal even to discuss it, given the urgency of the matter?
M K Bhadrakumar-Zelensky rubbishes Biden’s war on Russia, Pearls and Irritations, By P&I Guest Writers, Mar 24, 2022 What was the need for all that happened in the period since mid-December when Russia transmitted to Washington its demands for security guarantees? This question will haunt US President Joe Biden long after he retires from public life.
The foreign-policy legacy of his presidency and the reputation of this much-vaunted 80-year-old politician with a half-century’s record in public life, much of it supposedly in the domain of American foreign policy, are in tatters – irreparable.
News has appeared that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has conceded that he is willing to concede to the Russian demand that his country will not seek to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The announcement came early this week in an interview with ABC News where he revealed that he is no longer pressing for Ukraine’s NATO membership.
In fact, Zelensky let the cat out of the bag by casually adding, “I have cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that … NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine.”
Zelensky explained why: “The alliance is afraid of controversial things, and confrontation with Russia.”
This comes after his earlier revelation that he is “open to compromise” on the sovereignty of the two breakaway republics of Lugansk and Donetsk in the eastern Donbas region and on the status of Crimea.
ABC News reportedly telecast the interview on Monday night Eastern Time. Since then, the duo in the Biden team who piloted the Ukraine strategy, those apocalyptic “sanctions from hell” and the demonization of Vladimir Putin through the recent months – Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland – are nowhere to be seen.
That duo of Eastern European descent in the front seat – Blinken driving and Nuland by his side navigating him – ought to offer an explanation for this charade playing out, which is virtually demolishing American prestige as a superpower.
There are questions galore. Principally, if it is so easy to work out a compromise over Russia’s legitimate security demands, especially regarding Ukraine’s NATO membership and the alliance’s further expansion, why was Biden so very stubborn in his refusal even to discuss it, given the urgency of the matter?
Can it be that Biden was acting smart to create a fait accompli for Moscow by formalizing Ukraine’s membership at the forthcoming NATO summit on June 29-30 in Madrid?
What’s the need to destabilize the European economies and rock the world oil market at a juncture when most economies are entering a path of post-pandemic economic recovery?
What explains this unnatural obsession on the part of Biden over Ukraine’s regime?
Why such visceral hatred on Biden’s part toward Russia, something unworthy of an 80-year-old world statesman?
Why is it that the economic war against Russia has become such a very personal affair for Biden, as his White House speech on Tuesday shows?
But such an ignominious end to this entire episode over Ukraine’s NATO membership was entirely to be anticipated. Fundamentally, this is an existential issue for Russia, whereas Biden, Blinken and Nuland are dilettantes sitting 10,000 kilometers away indulging in old neocon pastimes of interfering in other countries’ internal affairs, threatening them, disciplining them or punishing them for defying America’s diktat.
Even after Zelensky spoke, what has been Biden’s reaction? He scheduled a speech to announce that the US shall no longer import oil from Russia. Shouldn’t he have heaved a sigh of relief that this war in Ukraine is petering out?
Instead, he resorted to this strange toothless measure to impress the American audience that he is still on a winning streak promoting democracy in faraway lands. Isn’t such a gimmick an insult to the gullible American public?
Biden took this new step after Europeans told him plainly that they are not interested in such a move against Russia, given their heavy reliance on Russian oil.
Second, Biden doesn’t seem to know, or has pretended otherwise, that America is actually shooting at its own feet. For Russian prices are highly competitive and American companies will now have to pay much more to source heavy-grade oil suitable for their refineries………
Biden claims he is making sure that Putin won’t have money for his “war machine” if America stops buying oil from Russia. This is laughable, bordering on a lie.
The US was purchasing about 12% of Russia’s total oil exports. All right, that’s a decent figure. But it isn’t as if Russia won’t have any other buyers in a world market where the oil price has soared close to US$130 per barrel (thanks to Biden’s “sanctions from hell” against Russia)………..
Fundamentally, the problem is that the American elite is delusional. While the rest of the world knows that in a multipolar world, the United States’ capacity to force its will on other countries is inexorably in decline, the American elite shut their eyes to that reality. The present ridiculous situation was only due to this arrogance and self-deception……..
The strategic defeat that Washington has suffered will dent US prestige worldwide, weaken its trans-Atlantic leadership, unravel its Indo-Pacific strategy, and accelerate the drain of American influence in the 21st century. The Biden presidency will carry this heavy cross.
This article was produced in partnership by Indian Punchline and Globetrotter, which provided it to Asia Times.
M K Bhadrakumar is a former Indian diplomat. Follow him on Twitter at @BhadraPunchline . His diplomatic career included assignments on the territories of the former Soviet Union and to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Other overseas postings included South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey. https://johnmenadue.com/m-k-bhadrakumar-zelensky-rubbishes-bidens-war-on-russia/
Nato countries set to give Ukraine kit to protect against nuclear and chemical attacks
Nato countries set to give Ukraine kit to protect against nuclear and chemical attacks
Secretary general says equipment would be ‘to protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats’, Guardian, Dan Sabbagh in Brussels and Andrew Roth, 23 Mar 22,
Nato countries are expected to agree at Thursday’s emergency summit of the western military alliance to provide special kit to protect Ukraine against any chemical, biological or nuclear attacks launched by Russia…….
The Nato chief declined to spell out exactly what would be supplied, though it is likely to include gas masks and protective suits. But his statement reflects heightened uncertainty across alliance members about Russian intentions as the invasion of Ukraine has stalled on multiple fronts.,…………………….. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/23/nato-countries-to-give-ukraine-kit-to-protect-against-chemical-and-nuclear-attacks
Deal on Ukrainian nuclear safety to come ‘soon,’ says IAEA chief
Deal on Ukrainian nuclear safety to come ‘soon,’ says IAEA chief, https://www.politico.eu/article/deal-ukraine-nuclear-safety-iaea-chief-russia-war/
Agency hopes to send experts to Ukraine to get ‘credible, objective’ on the ground information.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is closing in on a deal to guarantee the safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, according to its chief Rafael Mariano Grossi.
“We are negotiating, we are approaching what we want to be the final stages of our consultations,” Grossi told European lawmakers on Monday, adding he hoped to reach a deal “very soon.”
The discussions, which started on March 10, are “very delicate” diplomatically, he said.
The future framework will make “no political references to the situation in the plants or no connection that could be construed as legitimizing the presence of anybody in a foreign territory,” according to Grossi, responding to concerns that it could be used by Moscow to legitimize control over parts of Ukraine’s territory.
He added that it will require Russia and Ukraine to “observe some of the rules … that have been repeatedly violated with enormous risk for the population, local, regional, European populations” since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Russian troops have taken control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the active nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia, prompting fears of potential nuclear disaster and large-scale environmental damage.
Grossi has repeatedly expressed his concerns about nuclear safety as the conflict unfolds, but at no point has the IAEA warned of explicit and immediate danger outside Ukraine.
Speaking to MEPs on Monday, he stressed that “nuclear power plants are very robust, they can sustain an airplane that falls on them.” It would take “massive means” to get to the core of a reactor. He also repeated that targeting nuclear plants would constitute a breach of international law.
Once the framework is agreed, Grossi said he hopes to send IAEA experts to Ukraine “to facilitate the situation there, also as a deterrent to new, complicated, dangerous occurrences taking places.”
Experts will also look to gather “credible, objective information” about the situation on the ground, he said, noting that it is becoming “increasingly difficult” to ascertain the facts of the situation “because there are conflicting narratives about what is happening.”
Chernobyl radiation monitors ‘not working’
Chernobyl radiation monitors ‘not working’ https://www.cessnockadvertiser.com.au/story/7667680/chernobyl-radiation-monitors-not-working/?cs=6981Australian Associated Press 21 Mar 22,
Ukraine’s nuclear regulatory agency says the radiation monitors around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the world’s worst meltdown in 1986, have stopped working.
In a statement on Monday, the agency also said there are no longer firefighters available in the region to protect forests tainted by decades of radioactivity as the weather warms.
The plant was seized by Russian forces on February 24.
According to Monday’s statement, the combination of risks could mean a “significant deterioration” of the ability to control the spread of radiation not just in Ukraine but beyond the country’s borders in weeks and months to come.
Management of the Chernobyl plant said on Sunday that 50 staff members who had been working non-stop since the Russian takeover have been rotated out and replaced.
A “no-fly zone” does not becalm the skies
Would put nuclear plants at even greater risk
A “no-fly zone” does not becalm the skies — Beyond Nuclear International 20 Mar 22 , Humanitarian crisis would be worsened if nuclear plants hit
Introduction: There are many views about what the next steps should be to address the ever greater humanitarian tragedy in Ukraine, but virtual unanimity in favor of an immediate end to the war. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has made frequent pleas for a “no-fly zone.” But what would this mean?
On Saturday, a State Department spokesperson told Reuters that U.S. military support helps put Ukraine “in the strongest possible negotiating position.” But at what cost? ……………
For a ceasefire agreement to be reached, it will be necessary to secure Russian strategic interests. This means confirmation that Ukraine will never be a part of NATO and will be a neutral country. It also means clear pathways — carrots as opposed to only sticks — for sanctions to be lifted. There is no time to waste.
On March 17, US Representative Ilhan Omar said, “As we support Ukraine in their fight against Russia’s brutal invasion, we must avoid the knee-jerk calls that risk nuclear war. A no-fly zone is not simply declared, it must be militarily enforced. It would mean the beginning of World War III. We must reject this completely.” As Code Pink lays out below, a no-fly zone would likely escalate the war exponentially, with the US and NATO involved directly in aerial combat with Russia. That could rain down damage on nuclear power plants indiscriminately. None of the four nuclear power plants sites in Ukraine was built to withstand protracted bombardment.
While the Code Pink article does not address the specific risks to nuclear power plants should a “no-fly zone” be declared (unlikely at this time), it lays out both a preview of such an escalation and a plea for peace, alongside a perhaps uncomfortable short history lesson about the contribution of the US and NATO to the current crisis. While the solutions offered by Code Pink are their own, neither Code Pink nor Beyond Nuclear exonerates in any way the atrocities currently being committed against civilians in a country under invasion. But the precarious situation, poised for a potential escalation — rather than cessation — of war, points up once again the extreme liabilities of nuclear power plants, whose dangers are unequalled by any other power source.
By Medea Benjamin and Code Pink
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just addressed both chambers of Congress. He asked for a no-fly zone — a situation in which U.S. fighter jets would shoot down Russian planes — and for MiG-29 fighter jets to be transferred from Poland to Ukraine (the U.S. has so far declined to be a part of such a transfer as it would be received by Russia as U.S. combat entry into the war).
Following Zelensky’s address, President Biden approved $800 million in new aid for Ukraine, bringing the total U.S. assistance to Ukraine to $1 billion in just this past week, and will include Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
Standing ovations, such as the one Zelensky just got from Congress, are great, but what Ukraine really needs is vigorous negotiations to reach a ceasefire deal. To this end, we are calling on the U.S. to enter the negotiations by outlining the agreements and compromises the U.S. should support. Add your name.
By breaking promises not to expand NATO into Eastern Europe, by placing offensive missiles in Romania and Poland that could reach Russia in minutes, by arming Ukrainian forces, by continuing to “modernize” the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and by withdrawing from key nonproliferation treaties, the U.S. exacerbated the conflict that led up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia must withdraw its troops and commit to respecting the sovereignty of Ukraine, but the United States must also be clear that it supports and is ready to commit to the following:
- Continued rejection of a no-fly zone over Ukraine;
- No NATO expansion;
- Recognition of Ukraine as a neutral country;
- An off-ramp for sanctions on Russia to be lifted;
- Support for an international security agreement to protect the interests of all people on the European continent to remain free from war and occupation;
- Support for Ukrainian demilitarization to the degree that missiles would be banned;
- Supply humanitarian aid to Ukraine and support Ukrainian refugees.
Beyond increased prices at gas stations, the war in Ukraine is resulting in a silencing of critical anti-war voices inside America. While mainstream U.S. media is providing only a narrow narrative on the war, social media platforms are increasing their censorship.
Along with asking the U.S. to join the war — a move that could mean a nuclear WWIII — Zelensky has been asking the U.S. to be more involved in the Ukraine-Russia negotiations.
On Saturday, a State Department spokesperson told Reuters that U.S. military support helps put Ukraine “in the strongest possible negotiating position.” But at what cost? ……………
For a ceasefire agreement to be reached, it will be necessary to secure Russian strategic interests. This means confirmation that Ukraine will never be a part of NATO and will be a neutral country. It also means clear pathways — carrots as opposed to only sticks — for sanctions to be lifted. There is no time to waste. https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/72759838/posts/3899932178
Shrouded in doubt: safety issues at Russian-occupied nuclear stations in Ukraine
Kate Brown and Susan Solomon: One thing nuclear power plants weren’t built to survive: War. Military strategists commonly target the enemy’s electrical grid. That’s a problem when combat is in a nuclearized country like Ukraine.
Inside the New Safe Confinement at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine in 2021, The structure encloses the radioactive remains of the reactor that exploded in 1986. Russian
forces are now in control of the site. The day Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian forces took control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
A week later, flares from Russian artillery lit up the Zaporizhzhia plant; Ukrainian media reported that the Russian army had placed land mines around the plant’s perimeter and was stockpiling arms at both nuclear installations. The army is now pointed at yet another nuclear facility, the South Ukraine plant.
But Russia’s is the first invasion of a country that derives more than half its energy from nuclear power. It stands to reason that Russian generals will seek to capture all 15 active reactors in Ukraine. The Russian army appears to be using the nuclear installations as safe havens, calculating that the Ukrainians will not fire on them, but we can still expect plenty more fearful nights spent riveted to scenes of battles over huge concrete towers and rows of basins filled with radioactive spent nuclear fuel:
It turns out that reactor containment buildings have never been stress-tested for blows from heavy artillery or missiles. Even without a direct hit on a reactor, we are learning of the fragility of nuclear power plants. Normal oversight and operations have essentially been replaced by isolation and disorder.
Workers at Chernobyl have been on the job continuously for more than three weeks. They have no
clean clothes (important for nuclear workers), no real beds, no contact with family, no proper meals or rest.
At the Zaporizhzhia plant, according to a Ukrainian official, Russian soldiers have forced employees into
submission. Employee-hostages — exhausted, hungry and stressed — could make mistakes. So could the untrained Russian military personnel who aregiving the orders. Communication to these sites is largely cut off.
Independent oversight experts cannot enter to verify safe operations or deliver spare parts. Russian diplomats continue to enjoy a privileged role at the International Atomic Energy Agency, despite the war. We have to rely on what the IAEA and the Russian army tell us.
In the past, Soviet nuclear information services specialized in secrecy and mistruths. One of us, while
working on a history of Chernobyl, found that the IAEA had difficulty acknowledging the public health impact of the fallout from the 1986 explosion there. Russian information services again appear to be opaque and untrustworthy. If an accident occurs, we don’t have confidence that rescue squads and firefighters can get to captured nuclear installations to deal with infernos and injuries. Nor can we be sure that we will learn the full extent of the damage and spread of radioactive sources.
Washington Post 18th March 2022
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/18/chernobyl-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-ukraine/
Zelensky bans 11 political parties, although no evidence linking any to Russian government
Zelensky Announces Ban on 11 Political Parties–At the onset of the Feb. 24 invasion, Zelensky signed a measure that established martial law and general mobilization. | 20 March 2022 | Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a measure that bans 11 opposition political parties, alleging they have ties to Russia, he announced in a Telegram video posted on March 20. Zelensky also said “wartime exposes quite well the paucity of personal ambitions of those who try to put their own ambitions” or “their own party or career above the interests of the state,” according to a translation. The National Security Council agreed to suspend the parties, Ukrinform reported, citing Zelensky’s video address. The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice has been told to immediately take measures to ban those political parties, he said. Zelensky didn’t provide evidence that linked the 11 opposition parties to the Russian government.
Danger of radioactive disaster at Chernobyl and other nuclear sites, with exhausted staff, and risk of loss of remote control
The staff, who are still at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, came in on
February 23. The enemy has not allowed any opportunity to change the staff,
who are psychologically and physically exhausted due to the lack of
rotation and the constant pressure caused by armed people.
This can lead to loss of control over the safety of the facility and the inability to
respond to internal and external initial events such as fire, which in turn
can lead to severe radiation effects. In case of a complete power outage,
there is a risk of disabling the safety of important systems and equipment,
in particular: ventilation, heat dissipation, technological, and radiation
control systems.
The possibility of remote control over nuclear and
radiation safety indicators at storage facilities, the New Safe Confinement
facility, and other facilities will be lost. Operators will be unable to
control the level and temperature of water in spent nuclear fuel storage
pools. There are long-lived radionuclides in the spent nuclear fuel
storage, which in case of an accident can get into the Kakhovka Reservoir,
and further along the Dnipro river into the Black Sea. A huge area would be
contaminated by radiation for thousands of years. If there is an accident
with one power unit or one container for spent fuel, depending on the
direction of wind the radioactive cloud will affect Russia, Bulgaria,
Greece, Romania, and other border countries.
Time 17th March 2022
https://time.com/6158274/chernobyl-russia-ukraine-nuclear-disaster/
Why a No-Fly Zone over Ukraine is a bad idea – (lead to World War 3)
No-Fly Zone in Ukraine Would Be “Direct Involvement in the War,” Experts Warn, Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, March 16, 2022 , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to demand the U.S. and NATO allies impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, an idea that President Biden has rejected even as a growing number of Republicans embrace the idea despite the risk it could draw the U.S. directly into the war against Russia and possibly spark a nuclear confrontation.
Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, co-authored an open letter signed by foreign policy experts who oppose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. It urges leaders to continue diplomatic and economic measures to end the conflict. “As you start thinking about how a no-fly zone would actually unfold, it becomes very obvious this would be direct involvement in the war against Russia, and rather than end the war, a no-fly zone would enlarge the war and escalate the war,” says Wertheim.
TRANSCRIPT……………………
STEPHEN WERTHEIM:………. what it means is that the United States and NATO forces would commit to shoot down enemy planes, any enemy plane that enters the zone. It’s quite clear Russia would not voluntarily comply with our verbal declaration of a no-fly zone, so we’d have to shoot those planes down. ………..
as you start thinking about how a no-fly zone would actually unfold, it becomes very obvious this would be direct involvement in the war against Russia. And rather than end the war, a no-fly zone would enlarge the war and escalate the war. And that’s why the Biden administration has, rightly, been very clear throughout this conflict that a no-fly zone would be escalatory and is not something that it wants to do………..
there is no really limited no-fly zone. A no-fly zone means a commitment not just to declare something, but to enforce it, by making sure that Russian planes cannot fly within that zone. And so, it would clearly be viewed as an act of war and an escalation by Russia………… What it really would be is an intermediate step toward a much wider war.
AMY GOODMAN: So, I wanted to ask you about the state of negotiations to end this war. The Ukrainian President Zelensky suggested earlier today that Russian demands are becoming more realistic. ………….. Zelensky’s remarks came a day after he acknowledged he doesn’t expect Ukraine to join NATO anytime soon, which is very significant.
………… STEPHEN WERTHEIM:……….. there are also some encouraging words coming out of the Biden administration, as well. Secretary of State Tony Blinken just recently suggested that the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia were not intended to be permanent. And what that signals is perhaps a willingness on the part of the United States to drop some of the most draconian sanctions on Russia if that becomes necessary in order to secure a peace settlement that the legitimate government of Ukraine, led by Zelensky, would desire. ………………………………………….. https://truthout.org/video/no-fly-zone-in-ukraine-would-be-direct-involvement-in-the-war-experts-warn/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=6141299d-bdd4-4062
Safety fears, as Chernobyl nuclear staff tired and stressed.
As Russian troops hold staff at the Chernobyl nuclear plant ‘hostage’,
the mayor of a nearby town warns ‘complete catastrophe’ could be round
the corner. Yuri Fomichev says fuel is running out at the site, including
for back-up generators supplying its safety systems. With the plant being
besieged for three weeks now, food supplies are also becoming scarce, and
the stress of being held at gunpoint could lead to ‘a new accident’, he
adds. His concerns were echoed by the official in charge of a 19-mile
Exclusion Zone around Chernobyl who warned staff were ‘on the edge of
their human capabilities due to physical and emotional exhaustion’.
Metro 16th March 2022
Mirror 16th March 2022
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/fears-chernobyl-in-danger-nuclear-26478660
Chilling warnings that Chernobyl is in danger of a new nuclear accident
because the 100 staff at the stricken plant being kept ‘hostage at
gunpoint’ by the Russians are on the edge of collapse.
Daily Mail 15th March 2022
What next for Ukraine’s nuclearsites and Wylfa and Trawsfynydd?
Dylan Morgan, on behalf of CADNO a PAWB. What next for Ukraine’s nuclear
sites and Wylfa and Trawsfynydd? The war in Ukraine has highlighted the
danger of the rush to build new nuclear power stations in Wales.
Russia’s miltiary attacks on Ukraine have been terrible. However, there is one
frightening fact about this conflict that isn’t mentioned in the press.
This is the first war to be fought on the land of a country that has
operational nuclear reactors.
In fact, Ukraine gets about 52% of its
electricity from 15 nuclear reactors. During the first days of the Russian
invasion, their chosen path into Ukraine to the south from Belarus was
through the exclusion zone around Chernobyl’s old nuclear reactors.
Higher levels of radioactivity have been reported in the area because
Russia’s heavy military vehicles have stirred up dust and mud releasing
radioactivity in to the environment.
Russian forces succeeded to gain
control of the site. Reports are reaching us suggesting that Ukrainian
workers trying to keep the site as safe as possible are under great strain.
It was reported that about 200 of them had to stay there without rest
facilities for the first fortnight after the arrival of the Russian forces.
Within days, we heard about Russian forces attacking the Zaporizhzhia
nuclear site in south east Ukraine. This is the largest nuclear site in
Europe and is the home to six Soviet 950MW reactors. That is, six Wylfa
size stations alongside each other. Luckily, neither the reactors nor the
waste stores there were hit. But great damage was caused to a training
building on the site. Russian soldiers have also captured this site. It is
logical to presume that work conditions there are very difficult for
Ukrainian workers in trying to run three of the six reactors with movement
to and from the site controlled by the Russians. It appears that the 3
other reactors there are not in operation at the moment.
We can only hope
that the names of the other nuclear sites, Rovno (4 reactors), South
Ukraine (3 reactors) and Khmeinitski (2 reactors) don’t become well known
as military targets hit by Russia over the next weeks. Dr Jim Green from
Friends of the Earth Australia warns us about dangers apart from the
reactors themselves in an article in the Ecologist two weeks ago:-
“radioactive reactor cores whether kept in situ or removed from the
reactors – would remain vulnerable, as would nuclear waste stores. Spent
fuel cooling ponds and dry stores often contain more radioactivity than the
reactors themselves, but without the multiple engineered layers of
containment thar reactors typically have.”
Nation Cymru 15th March 2022
1 This Month
petition to oppose the rapid increase of space-military industry threatening Jeju Island and the region.
[Petition by April 19th (KST)] Stop the joint military-Hanwha Systems-Jeju Provincial Government Sea Launch!
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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