Unfortunately, wars can easily lead to completely irrational and devastating actions. The same seems to be available for the military conflict between Ukraine and Russia that started in February, where a nuclear disaster might be looming. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex in Ukraine has been undergoing shelling, as Fox News reveals.
While U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres classified as ‘suicidal’ any attack on a nuclear plant, Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the rocket strikes that damaged the facility. The U.N. now wants to investigate the situation at the nuclear power plant, according to the same source mentioned above.
Unsurprisingly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded a stronger international reply to Russia’s shelling of the facility.
Europe is safe from a nuclear catastrophe for now
Despite the situation, there is hope that humanity can avoid “Chernobyl 2.0”. Energoatom , the state nuclear power firm of Ukraine, stated, according to the Washington Post and as Fox News quotes:
This time a nuclear catastrophe was miraculously avoided, but miracles cannot last forever.
To make matters worse, buildings around the facility are vulnerable in the face of military combat, an aspect that was emphasized by Daryl Kimball, the Executive Director of Arms Control Association. He stated for the Washington Post, as Fox News also quotes:
This is particularly dangerous because these buildings are not built with the same kind of reinforced concrete that the reactor containment building is,
These places were not designed as fortresses against external missile or artillery strikes.
A new phase of the war is about to start, according to an article posted on The Guardian three days ago, as Russian troops gather in the southern part of Ukraine.
The Pentagon estimates that up to 80,000 Russians lost their lives or had been wounded in Ukraine since the start of the war between the two countries, according to Euronews.
