Kyiv has warned that Russia might be planning detonations at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. What could happen if Russia goes ahead with these plans?
Kyiv has warned that Russia might be planning detonations at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. What could happen if Russia goes ahead with these plans?
In late June, 16 months into the full-scale Russian invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky alerted his nation of an unprecedented threat. Russia, the president said, had rigged the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with explosives, and was ready to set off the charges and cause radiation to leak into surrounding areas. “Russia uses the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as an element in its aggression,” Zelensky said.
Dmytro Gumenyuk, head of the safety analysis department of the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety, details how exactly the enemy could damage the Zaporizhzhya NPP and the main dangers it would pose.