Ukraine

conventional warfare for the first time in history. That nightmare scenario is
one that few of the industry’s players had anticipated. In Chernobyl and
Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces represent a lingering threat to the most basic rules
of nuclear security. On the way to Chernobyl along the Dnipro River, a two-hour
drive from Kyiv, the imprint left by Russia’s occupation remains, two months
after an ordeal that lasted from the February 24 invasion until March 31. Most bridges
have been destroyed and our driver warns us to stay on the pavement as
landmines lurk beyond. After the invasion, the exclusion zone around Chernobyl
– a 30-kilometre radius around the notorious nuclear plant near Ukraine’s
border with Belarus – made global headlines once again. For some 35 days,
Chernobyl personnel had to abide the Russian soldiers who seemed oblivious to
the dangers inherent in a nuclear site. Those in the civil nuclear industry
believe it is vital to deliberate on the issue of nuclear security in wartime.
Terrorist attack scenarios had been considered in the past. But in light of the
Russian invasion, the matter of adopting international rules is now on the
table. Over the past three months, Ukrainian authorities have been calling – so
far without success – for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to
commit its members to respecting a five-kilometre perimeter around nuclear
facilities inside of which no military forces can be permitted to penetrate.



 



France24 26th
May 2022



https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220526-should-the-war-in-ukraine-spur-a-nuclear-security-rethink