Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant is now a ‘nuclear Hindenburg’ because of Vladimir Putin: columnist

As Ukraine prepares to launch its expected counter-offensive against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion, concerns are growing over the possibility of a radiological incident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant outside Enerhodar, which has suffered repeated rounds of bombing and blackouts since then. that Putin’s troops were captured. the installation in March 2022.

Zaporizhia is the largest of its kind in continental Europe, and although there are strict safety protocols and routine inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the worst-case scenario could play out if the plant is caught in the crossfire between Ukrainian defense forces and Russia . artillery.

Sky News reported on Thursday that workers are concerned that if Zaporizhzhia sustains significant damage or is unable to operate its backup generators to maintain its reactor cooling tanks that “the level of radioactive contamination, and especially the area of ​​contamination, will be thousands of square kilometers land and sea.” The workers stressed that “it would be much, much worse than Fukushima and worse than Chernobyl.”

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Sky News He also noted that “five of the six reactors are now in cold shutdown, but there are fears that Russia may use the power plant to stage a mock attack.”

Columnist Joseph Cirincione of The Daily Beast extends to risks in a disappointing opinion column on Saturday.

Zaporizhzhia, wrote Cirincione, “is a tick nuclear time bomb. Through accident, attack or sabotage the worst could happen nuclear disaster From Chernobyl.”

Cirincione posits several sequences of events through which the “nuclear Hindenburg” could crash on Earth:

• The battle irreparably disconnects Zaporizhzhia from the electricity it needs to prevent a collapse.
• Staffing errors, due to a “shortage of repair workers who can actually service and fix problems.”
• Russian sabotage.

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A key variable, however, is how Putin decides to respond if his military suffers additional defeats or if Ukraine strikes targets inside Russia.

Experts have warned that Putin is “running out of options“apart from making good on his constant threats to unleash his massive atomic arsenal to level the playing fields.

Therefore, Cirincione explained“There is no winning hand here. It’s not just Ukrainian drones that can reach Moscow. Winds could carry radioactive plumes from the Zaporizhia fires deep into Russia. A move aimed at harming Ukrainians could to cause renewed panic among Russians who support Putin’s war.”

Either way, Cirincione concluded, “We would have to say that the odds of such a disaster are better than even.” “The nuclear time bomb is ticking”.

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The full Sky News report is available at this link. Cirincione’s full editorial continues at this link (subscription required).