How Russia’s attack on Ukraine violates international law
PBS NewsHourMar 05, 2022
After Russia and Ukraine traded blame for a weekend rocket attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – controlled by Russian forces since Mar. – the UN's Sec. General António Guterres condemned the attack and reiterated calls to give officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to the plant. The official did not apportion any blame for the strike.
Speaking in Tokyo on Mon. following a visit to Hiroshima to mark the 77th anniversary of the world's first nuclear bomb attack, Guterres said: "Any attack to a nuclear plant is a suicidal thing. I hope that those attacks will end, and at the same time I hope that the IAEA will be able to access the plant."
This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after an election a "coup". This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.
NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.
There is a 6% chance that there will be a serious radiation incident at any nuclear plant in Ukraine by 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.