US urges Russia to abandon Ukraine nuke plant to avoid 1986 Chernobyl disaster

The United States on Friday, August 19, urged Moscow to abandon Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in order to avoid a potential reprise of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The appeal from the Biden administration came amid reports of Russia considering shelling the facility in a “false flag” operation. It is worth mentioning Russia has been using Zaporizhzhia nuclear power as a base for Russian artillery units and using it against attacking Ukrainian forces. While briefing media on Friday, senior defence officials said the US government across the board and the national security community is watching all Russian activities "very, very close". 

"We are very concerned about military option -- military operations, rather, at or near any of Ukraine's nuclear power facilities, and you know, very concerned about any reports of damage to specifically Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant's power lines," said the senior official. "We've been very clear that fighting near a nuclear power plant is dangerous, is responsible, and we want the fighters and Russia to operate with extreme caution and conduct no actions that would result in a potential radiological release," added the official. According to the officials, Russia showed a willingness to fire on a nuclear power plant in the past, and therefore, the current actions in and around the nuke plant would become disastrous for both Ukrainians and the neighbouring regions. 

"So we have been very clear with Russia, that we expect Russia to return full control of this plant, to comply with the request by the IAEA, to comply with its technical safeguards, and provide access to the plant," it noted. 

Chernobyl nuke plant

It is pertinent to mention here that the Russian forces had attacked the nuclear plant nearly four days after they started a full-fledged war against Ukraine. This raised grave concerns regarding the safety and security of the site. Since then, the Ukrainian government has been alleging that the Russian forces are not giving proper space to the plant officials to run the site properly, a claim that Moscow has denied multiple times. Notably, Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant has been undergoing decommissioning since the 1986 accident. According to IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), significant amounts of nuclear material remain in various facilities at the site in the form of spent fuel and other radioactive waste. 

Image: AP