Ukraine warns of possible Russian plan to sabotage Ukraine's nuclear power plant, risking nuclear catastrophe.

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine warns of possible nuclear plant catastrophe

In a country haunted by ghosts of nuclear catastrophe, Europe's largest nuclear power plant feels like a ticking time bomb. Southern Ukraine's Aparicio plant has been occupied by Russia since March 9, 2022. Disaster has been looming as the war rages, as Ukrainian and Russian forces trade fire in its vicinity. But the chance of a meltdown has increased sharply since the destruction of the Kharkovka Dam, which unleashed a catastrophic flood and jeopardized the supply of water needed to cool the plant's reactors and spent fuel. For one former worker at the plant, disaster feels imminent. But he doesn't believe the discourse around the dam is getting it right. For a chemist who now serves as a company commander in the Ukrainian armed forces, it's not the scale of destruction that many have warned about. Believing Ukraine has learned its lessons from Chernobyl, implementing a series of safety mechanisms and backup fail-safes. It's also why he's less concerned about reports of explosives seen on the third and fourth nuclear reactors. He believes the danger lies here, in the dozens of contaminated fuel barrels parked inside the plant compound. When the Ukrainians had control of the plant, every so often those barrels were safely transported off-site. But like many of the safety protocols Ukrainians used to implement at the plant, satellite imagery confirms those protocols have not been kept up by Russians. A radioactive trigger waiting to be detonated. It's like a dirty bomb. While he doesn't know what the situation currently is inside the plants, and if it will have sufficient water to cool the sole working reactor, to him it sent a message. You have family within 30 kilometers of the plant? Do you talk to him? Time to time, but not often. Because I'm in a room with my friends in an occupied territory. I don't want that he... He will be in danger. It's dangerous to speak to him. That's the reality for many communicating with Ukrainians in occupied territory, who feel and know that they're being heavily monitored by their occupier. His only live glimpse inside the plant will come in the event of a catastrophe, when his friend has agreed to send him an SOS message. While the International Atomic Energy Agency and Ukrainian officials have assured the plant is not in imminent risk after the dam break, tensions have soared, and Chemist has little faith in the international body responsible for assuring nuclear safety. They show that they can not do nothing. They go to the station, and the Russians show him what they need. And they go, OK, it's OK. It's dangerous. It's so dangerous. Should disaster strike, Chemist estimates a 30-kilometer radius around the plant would see lethal amounts of radiation, endangering thousands of people. And now over 500 days into this war, the available options to avert disaster remain limited. For those living around the plant, they can only wait and hope.

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London

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Ukraine Invasion