Russian shelling at Ukrainian nuclear plant risks 'another Chernobyl'
New ScientistAug 08, 2022
Day 184 Roundup: Power Restarts at Nuclear Plant; Putin Orders 137K Troop Replenishment
Photo: Reuters [via Reuters]
The Facts
According to reports published on Fri., power began to be restored to nuclear reactors at the Zaporizhzhia power plant after nearby fires, allegedly caused by shelling, led to a short circuit in the power line connecting the plant to Ukraine's energy grid on Thursday. It was the first time the plant had been cut off from electricity in its 40 years of operation.
Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-appointed official in Zaporizhzhia, earlier said that disruptions to the nuclear plant caused electricity outages in Zaporizhzhia, Energodar, Melitopol, and Kherson, and confirmed the plant was forced to rely on backup generators. Power was restored to most regions by Friday.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Experts have made it clear – the situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant presents the risk of another Chernobyl. Nuclear disaster has, miraculously, been avoided so far, but continuing risks to the safety and effectiveness of staff to control the reactors could have catastrophic consequences.
Establishment-critical narrative
Although Zaporizhzhia's cooling systems will be relatively vulnerable due to their contact with the outside world, the worst-case scenario would only cause serious damage at a local level. Both Russia and Ukraine are overstating the risk of nuclear catastrophe to galvanize domestic support for the invasion and play upon Western fears to incentivize providing military and public support respectively.
Nerd narrative
There's a 40% chance that there will be a large-scale armed conflict in Russia before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
