Ukraine warns of a Russian attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The government is conducting evacuation drills, and many people are trying to prepare for emergencies.
Rescue workers in yellow radiation protection suits use dosimeters to check the radiation levels on trucks and cars. The vehicles are then decontaminated at a special washing area. The injured are treated in a hospital tent in front of a hardware store in Zaporizhia. Here, too, the helpers wear protective masks and yellow radiation suits.
“We must be prepared”
It’s just an exercise: Ukraine is preparing for an emergency, explains Yuri Malashko, head of the military administration in Zaporizhia: “We have organized everything so that people can understand what is happening as well as possible. This is not the first and not the last exercise. As long as the enemy is in Zaporizhia NPP, we must be prepared.”
Many people in Ukraine are afraid of a radioactive incident. The Ukrainian government has repeatedly warned of a possible attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, and the Interior Ministry is conducting evacuation exercises.
The Russian occupying forces mined the plant’s cooling pool and attached objects resembling explosive devices to the roofs of the reactors, it said. However, this information cannot be independently confirmed.
“Scorched Earth Tactic”
Nevertheless, there is reason for concern, says security expert Nico Lange: “There is much to suggest that Russia, when it comes under pressure, will use a kind of scorched-earth tactic.” That’s why he believes in the danger that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is talking about.
Ukraine has also warned of events that eventually happened – such as the destruction of the dam in Nowa Kakhovka. “And I don’t think it’s easy at all, always talking about mutual accusations,” says Lange – after all, everyone knows that “Russia has a tendency to lie.”
Because Russia, in turn, claims that Ukraine wants to attack the nuclear power plant – Telegram chats warn of kamikaze drones and missiles. However, many experts believe that this is unrealistic. The reactors are well protected, especially against external influences. The idea of an exploding nuclear reactor is wrong, say those familiar with the plant.
reactor detonation unlikely
And the Russian soldiers who are occupying the nuclear power plant would hardly blow up the reactor itself, says the expert Olga Koscharna. Instead, they could take other engineering measures to cause a serious accident.
For example, the water supply could be disrupted. “And not just to blow up a cooling pond or a sprinkler system, but also pipes or steam lines. Every nuclear power plant is a very complex system,” explains Koscharna.
Chernobyl scenario not to be expected
And so many people in Ukraine are currently buying iodine tablets, even though they wouldn’t help at all in the current situation. The reactors are in cold shutdown – and iodine only helps in an accident with the reactors running.
According to experts, a Chernobyl scenario is not to be expected. But the consequences of a possible accident in a nuclear power plant are still difficult to assess.
And so Olga Schejko from Zaporizhia prepares for a possible emergency during the exercise: “Some food and water have to be prepared. If something really happens, God forbid, then windows and ventilation openings have to be closed. It was also said where the evacuation points will be located.”