There are great challenges to keeping Ukraine’s nuclear facilities safe during the Russian invasion.
There is new video evidence showing Russian soldiers engaged in reckless behavior when they took over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. Nuclear scientists say that reckless behavior was “nothing short of suicidal.” Apparently, some of the soldiers had no idea about the history surrounding Chernobyl.
Writer Howard Altman wrote an article for “The War Zone.” He interviewed Olena Pareniuk, a senior researcher for Ukraine’s Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants. It’s her job to investigate what happens after a disaster at a nuclear power plant.
Altman appeared on The Morning Show and said Pareniuk is very worried about the potential for nuclear disaster. She told him she worries about the impact not just on Ukraine, but upon all of Europe.
“She worked at Chernobyl, she worked at the Fukushima for two years after that,” said Altman. “And when she got the word about the Zaporizhzhia, you know, her heart sank. She sat in a chair and was shaking because the thought of what could happen was just, it’s unimaginable.”
Pareniuk is quoted in the article as saying: “They were shooting at a working nuclear power plant with a cannon. I wouldn’t believe it. If aliens landed on my lawn It would be okay for me, but I would never, ever believe if someone would tell me that here in Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union, someone would just shoot. We’ll just take a tank and shoot into the working nuclear power plant…”
The Russian troops are still occupying Ukraine’s largest power plant, though plant crews continue day-to-day operations. Pareniuk said she doesn’t want to think about the worst-case scenario but has no choice.
“The worst-case scenario is that if a Russian missile hits that facility, that the entirety of Europe could be affected, not just Europe,” Altman said. “That nuclear, that radioactive material could spread throughout the atmosphere to the Northern hemisphere. You know, it could reach the United States as well. So, there’s a great deal of concern about that happening.”
Parieniuk said she wanted to be an expert in radiation safety, but she never wanted this much experience. Unfortunately, she admits, again, she has no choice.
To read the entire interview with Olena Pareniuk and Howard Altman’s article go to: