What if Russia Attack Ukraine’s Nuclear Power Plants

What if the Russian military forces decided to attack Ukraine’s nuclear power plants? And it exploded!

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s choice in February to invade Ukraine completely has brought nuclear power security into focus.

Chernobyl serves as a potent emblem of nuclear disaster. In 1986, during a reactor test, a rapid surge of power destroyed Unit 4 of the poorly designed nuclear power plant in what was then part of the Soviet Union. Following the fire, clouds of radioactive material were discharged into the environment, prompting officials to establish an exclusion zone and evacuate hundreds of thousands of people. Dozens of people are believed to have died as a direct consequence of the accident.

Since then, radiation levels have decreased. Some inhabitants of the exclusion zone have returned to their houses and are now living in regions with elevated but non-fatal levels. Radiation levels unexpectedly increased in February, presumably as a result of heavy vehicles lifting a layer of topsoil and throwing dust into the air.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) determined that the levels are safe for the public. However, the extraordinary reality of war in a nation with nuclear power plants has heightened the threat of nuclear disaster.

Last week, the Russian army attacked Europe’s biggest nuclear power facility before seizing control of the complex. Though no safety problem occurred, it was the first time military explosives were used against an operational nuclear reactor.

The critical necessity is to rotate the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s employees. The last workers from the Chernobyl nuclear power facility arrived on February 23. Russian troops have denied any chance to rotate the personnel, which are mentally and physically weary as a result of the lack of rotation and persistent pressure from armed individuals.

This may result in a loss of control over the facility’s safety and an inability to react to internal and external initiating events such as fire, leading to severe radiation impacts.

Additionally, the automated control system and correct data on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s radiation status have been lost. The Chernobyl nuclear power facility has been without energy since March 9, 2022.

According to the plant’s administration, an extra supply of diesel fuel for diesel power plants has been delivered to the site, which will provide emergency power to spent nuclear fuel storage facilities and the New Safe Confinement facility. Ukrainian personnel eventually managed to restore power, but there were again outages. Many believe that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone’s primary danger is not radiation, but Russian forces.