Day 185 Roundup: Risk of Radioactive Leakage at Zaporizhzhia Power Plant, UK to Send Underwater Drones to Ukraine
On Sat., Ukraine's state energy operator, Energoatom, said there's a risk of radioactive leakage at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - Europe's largest nuclear facility that's currently occupied by Russian troops.
Facts
- On Sat., Ukraine's state energy operator, Energoatom, said there's a risk of radioactive leakage at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - Europe's largest nuclear facility that's currently occupied by Russian troops. In case of a radiation leak, authorities started handing out iodine tablets to people who live near the facility on Friday.
- This comes as both Ukraine and Russia exchanged renewed accusations of attacks on the nuclear plant on Sat., with Energoatom claiming that Moscow shelled the grounds of the plant in the last 24 hours, and Russia's defense ministry alleging that Ukrainian forces shelled the plant three times in the last 24 hours. Neither of the claims could be independently confirmed.
- Meanwhile, the final document of a four-week review of the UN's Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty - considered the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament - that criticized Russia's takeover of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant saw Moscow block the agreement. Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department said that many countries, not only Russia, disagreed with "a whole host of issues." The document needed approval by all 191 countries.
- Elsewhere, the UK's Ministry of Defense announced that it will be sending six underwater drones to Ukraine to help detect Russian mines in the waters of its coast, and will be training Ukrainian personnel in the UK to use them.
- According to a temporary decree signed by Russian Pres. Putin and publicized on Sat., Ukrainians from Ukraine's separatist eastern regions that Russia recognizes as independent who have entered Russia since the start of the conflict will be allowed to work and live in the country "without a time limit."
Sources: Al Jazeera, Reuters, Globe and Mail, metro, and Times of India.
Narratives
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New Scientist. 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, as provided by Politico. 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.
