Punishing Ukraine For Attacking the Russian Occupation of Ukraine
A firefighter helicopter pours water on fire on a collapsed part of the Kerch Strait bridge in Crimea last Saturday AFP |
"Basically, what we've got here is the weaponization of civil nuclear perhaps for the first time.""And in an increasingly unstable world, it's important to understand this and what this implies for nuclear worldwide."Paul Dorfman, nuclear expert, University of Sussex, England"As the war in Ukraine persists, the NEA collects information from verifiable and reliable sources to support its members’ efforts to maintain an understanding of the state of nuclear safety and radiological protection in that country. Because our Ukrainian colleagues are faced with a highly uncertain, ever-changing and very challenging situation it is to be expected that obtaining detailed information on a regular basis may not be possible.":In Ukraine 15 pressurised water reactors of Russian VVER design are operated by the State Enterprise National Nuclear Energy Generating Company “Energoatom” at four plants. These plants operate under nuclear safety regulations implemented by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU)."Nuclear Energy Agency
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine. Image: Ralf1969 |
There
can no longer be differentiation between nuclear plants whose output is
meant strictly for power generation, and the stockpiling of
nuclear-tipped missiles. Each poses a threat; the missiles perhaps in a
more visibly direct way, meant to penetrate an enemy's sovereign soil
during a war operation, a civil nuclear infrastructure during an
'invasion' used as a threat with similar consequences, through
maliciously deliberate sabotage; staging the disruption of its integrity
for the purpose of causing a nuclear explosion on an enemy's soil.
All
external power was lost at the crippled nuclear plant in Ukraine for
the second time in five days. The risk of a radiation disaster resulting
from critical safety systems being closed off to electricity to operate
its safety regimen has been increased as a result of continued fighting
in the area. The United Nations' Atomic Energy watchdog reported that
the final remaining outside connection to the Russia-occupied
Zaporizhzha Nuclear Power Plant had been restored some eight hours on.
Despite which, the interruption highlighted "how precarious the situation is",
at the largest nuclear plant in Europe, emphasized International Atomic
Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi. Energoatom, Ukraine's nuclear
power operator, explained that the Zaporizhzhia plant had undergone a
"blackout" on Wednesday when a missile damaged an electrical substation
causing the emergency shutdown of the last external power source to the
plant.
Much
earlier in the invasion and occupation of the plant, all six of its
reactors had been shut down, but they require electricity to prevent
overheatng to the point of meltdown. Such an event could cause radiation
to leak from the plant. Diesel generators were supplying the plant, but
Russian troops blocked a convoy bringing additional fuel for the backup
equipment.
A
way was later found by Ukrainian plant workers to repair the line and
re-connect the plant to the Ukrainian power grid. Petro Kotin, chief of
Energoatom, last month explained that typically the plant had sufficient
diesel on hand to operate the generators -- "the station's last defence before a radiation accident", for a ten-day period.
In
the wake of the horrendous missile and drone strikes carried out by
Russia across Ukraine this week in retaliation for the explosions on the
Crimean bridge linking the Russian mainland to the peninsula, Western
governments have re-pledged to ship new weapons systems to Ukraine.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), revealed the arrest of five
Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia as suspects in the
attack on the Kerch Bridge, a span covering 12 miles.
The
massive bridge serves as a symbol of Moscow's regional dominance,
erected four years after Russia had declared annexation of the Crimean
peninsula. It is a crucial route for military supplies trucked from
Russia through to Ukraine in Moscow's 'special military invasion'. The
explosive blast at the Crimean bridge saw Russian President Vladimir
Putin responding through ordering missile strikes across Ukraine.
A
bombardment which deliberately targeted power plants and civilian
buildings across the cuntry. About a third of Ukraine's energy
ifrastructure has been damaged, Eight regions of southeast Ukraine were
victims of hundreds of Russian attacks in a 24-hour period. Punishing
strikes on central and western Ukraine were concluded.
Labels: Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian Military Counteroffensive
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