Of all the horrors of Ukraine's war, perhaps the most catastrophic threat is a nuclear explosion at Europe's largest nuclear plant, Zaporizhia.
Writing for The Daily Beast, Sirension explained that the plant is likely to be in the midst of heavy fighting as Ukraine launches its counteroffensive against Russia, describing the plant as a nuclear ticking time bomb that could become the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
Highly vulnerable
Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom warned that the plant was "on the verge of a nuclear and radiological accident." The International Atomic Energy Agency was also quoted as saying the facility was "extremely vulnerable."
He said workers at the facility told Britain's Sky News they feared the fighting could release radioactive gases "that could cause havoc in much of Europe, Russia and the Mediterranean".
Serencion pointed out that the danger does not come from a nuclear explosion such as the Hiroshima or Nagasaki explosions, but from melting thousands of fuel rods into the reactor and releasing hydrogen gas, which then explodes, releasing radioactive particles into plumes that can travel hundreds or even thousands of miles.
Cooling problem
There are 2200,<> tons of nuclear material, including hundreds of tons of spent fuel rods that must be constantly cooled, and if the electricity goes out, the pumps cannot circulate cooling water, and these rods will heat up and explode.
He explained that so far the power has been cut off from the station 7 times since the war began, the last of which was on the sixth of last month. The backup generators have started pumping water until the power is restored, but these generators only work for a few days, even if they are in good condition.
Hanging with thin thread
He and many experts have been warning that Zaporozhye reactors suspended by a thin thread can be interrupted in the following way:
1- Fighting around the factory cuts off the power supply.
Since Russia took control of the reactor in March 2, the number of workers has dropped from 2022,11 to only about 3500,<>, and worse, the best-qualified workers have left, and one worker said there is a shortage of repair workers who can fix the problems.
3- A deliberate Russian attack could dry up cooling ponds or destroy concrete domes around reactors.
4- There is also the possibility that Russia will sabotage the reactor, as its military could deliberately destroy the reactor in order to delay or defeat any Ukrainian advance. There are unconfirmed reports that Russia has planted explosives around key nuclear components at the site and has begun mass evacuations around the reactor.