Nuclear Plants

Decolonization and post-colonial studies in the post-Soviet sphere (excerpt)

Elizabeth Lancaster
Nuclear Plants
Writing: April 26, 2024
Painting: June, 2023
Inspired by Chornobyl and Fukishima Flowers

April 26th, 38 years after Chornobyl /// nuclear blackmail today

The catastrophic nuclear disaster of the Chornobyl power plant, the largest anthropogenic disaster in human history, occurred in Prypiat, a town around 130 km north of Kyiv on April 26, 1986. The root cause of the disaster is attributed to the Cold War isolation and lack of safety culture in the Soviet Union. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the explosion happened as a result of “improper testing at low power,” which ignored standard safety measures. Specialized helicopter teams were deployed to scatter sand and boron onto the wreckage, aiming to stifle the flames emanating from the burning core and prevent the dispersion of radioactive elements. However, these measures inadvertently exacerbated the situation by intensifying the heat within the core, thereby accelerating the ascent of radioactive materials. Consequently, this led to the formation of a radioactive cloud that extended across various regions of Western Europe and the Northern Hemisphere. The first indication of a release of radioactive material did not come from Soviet sources, but from Sweden. The Soviet Union waited a full 18 days before releasing a televised statement on the disaster.

In those 18 days, tens of thousands of people were knowingly and unknowingly exposed to iodine-131, a radioactive substance that is known to have directly caused thyroid cancer in those exposed in as little as four years after exposure. The nuclear meltdown remains the most catastrophic nuclear event in terms of civilian casualties, having exposed millions of people to radioactive contamination due to the magnitude of the disaster. Following the incident, more than 300,000 people were forced to relocate with many more choosing to do so later. The aftermath of the disaster has resulted in long-term effects, including exposure-related deaths and a range of health issues such as cancer, reproductive problems, premature births, and genetic disorders in children whose parents were exposed to radiation.

The disaster at Chornobyl resulted in the largest uncontrolled release of radioactive materials in history, causing extensive environmental damage. Contamination spread across a 150,000 sq km of the region, and jet streams carried radioactive material as far as Canada and Asia. Currently, over 55,400 square kilometers, or 9% of Ukraine’s territory is contaminated because of the accident. Europe experienced the highest levels of contamination, many countries had to impose long-term restrictions on certain food products for many years. Even after 25 years, the EU still had regulations in place for food production, transportation of livestock and consumption due to the impact of the Chernobyl fallout. 

Discussions surrounding Chornobyl hold particular relevance in the present day. The russian federation’s continued threat of nuclear proliferation in Ukraine is a tactic which has global implications. Additionally, forced migration which occurred due to the Chornobyl disaster is not essentially dissimilar to the ongoing refugee crisis provoked by russia’s full-scale invasion and continuous military attacks on critical civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, which has in several instances resulted in catastrophic disasters amounting to ecocide. The inclusion of my following analysis on present-day occurrences aims to elucidate the linkages between past acts of aggression carried out by russia in Ukraine and the ongoing threats that exist today.

Within days of the start of russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, russian troops seized the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant as part of a larger scheme to intimidate the world with the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe. Subsequently, russia has persisted in employing nuclear threats and disregarding the principles of peaceful nuclear energy utilization by seizing control of Ukrainian nuclear facilities, including the targeted bombardment of various sites such as the Neutron Source Research nuclear facility in Kharkiv, as well as the Zaporizhzhia (ZAES), and nuclear installations in Rivne, Khmelnytsky, and Pivdennoukrainska. Furthermore, russia has carried out highly destructive missile attacks on two major power plants in Dnipro and Kharkiv in March 2024, and completely destroyed the Trypilska coal-powered thermal power plant near Kyiv in April 2024.

For over 2 years, since March 2022, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, has been under russian occupation. russian forces have used the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as a base from which to launch attacks and shell Ukrainian-controlled territory across the Dnipro River.

The combination of traditional bomb threats and the potential for global catastrophe through the destruction of nuclear installations is equal to nuclear terrorism. The alarming situation of nuclear facilities being held hostage as a tactic of nuclear blackmail exploits the fear of a nuclear catastrophe and increases the likelihood of another major nuclear disaster. russia’s state nuclear company, Rosatom helped moscow unlawfully seize control of the plant, which has been repeatedly disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid. The severity of the issue is further underscored by Rosatom’s involvement in russia’s military-industrial complex and military operations in Ukraine by aiding the russian military with the provision of materials, technology, and components, effectively circumventing the sanctions imposed on them. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitors have reported shelling on the site almost every day since April 2023. Instead of targeting the reactors directly, the attacks focus on damaging the power transmission infrastructure.

While the plant was placed into a cold shutdown in September 2022, it still remains vulnerable. russian attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine deprive reactors of the electricity they use for cooling, which may not lead to an immediate catastrophe but certainly removes a critical safety measure, and significantly increases the risk of incident.

Since the start of the russian occupation, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has experienced eight full blackouts and one partial blackout, with emergency diesel generators and safety systems activated. “IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated during the opening of the Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on March 4 that the situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remained ‘very precarious’, as six of the seven pillars of nuclear and physical safety defined by the Agency had been fully or partially compromised.” For now only two electrical lines out of seven function to transmit electricity to the plant, one of them was targeted in the beginning of April 2024 leading to another blackout.

russia’s aggressive utilization of nuclear intimidation poses a significant threat to longstanding nonproliferation agreements, potentially leading to their collapse. Moreover, this approach gives rise to a perilous era characterized by nuclear-armed instability. The concern lies in the possibility that such tactics could normalize the use of nuclear intimidation within the realm of international relations.

“Nuclear weapons would no longer be regarded solely as a deterrent of last resort; the countries that possess them would gain even greater influence; countries that lack them would seek to obtain them; and the global risk of devastating wars would increase exponentially. This could plunge the entire world into a new era of international instability as countries scramble to secure a nuclear deterrent of their own. Countries around the world will change their own nuclear postures to achieve their expansionist aims or defend themselves against their neighbors.” Yehor Valiarenko, “Nuclear Blackmail of the Russian Federation,” Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council, Kyiv UA, April 10, 2024.

russia’s actions in Ukraine since 2022 have led to significant environmental devastation, such as Ukraine becoming the most heavily mined country globally and the catastrophic explosion of the Nova Kakhovka dam in June 2023. The Kakhovka dam, the second largest in Ukraine, has been crucial for providing water, livelihoods, and economic opportunities to generations of residents in the region. Additionally, it serves as a vital water source for Crimea and a key cooling system for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

The Kakhovka dam, a Soviet-era construction project, was built in 1956, a on the Dnieper River in Kherson Oblast. The construction of the dam necessitated the flooding of Ukrainian settlements, resulting in the displacement of lives, submerging homes, and agricultural land. However, over time, the dam became beneficial to the local community, providing a crucial source of energy and stability up until present day. On June 6, 2023, the explosion of the Kakhovka Dam by russian forces led to a major ecological catastrophe, forcing over 1,400 individuals to evacuate, contaminating water sources, flooding towns, cities, and farmland, and endangering the cooling system at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. This catastrophe is expected to have a devastating impact on numerous endangered animal and plant species, potentially leading to their extinction. Despite calls for condemnation and exclusion of russia from environmental agreements in response to the disaster, there has been limited international reaction to these demands.

The Dnipro Hydropower plant, the largest hydroelectric station in Ukraine and formerly the largest in Europe before the construction of the Volga stations, follows a cyclical trajectory. Poem about the Sea, A Soviet film directed by Yuliya Solntseva from 1958, depicts the Kakhovka Reservoir, portraying it as a symbol of socialism’s ambition to reshape nature through infrastructure projects like dams and power plants. The reservoir, referred to as a “sea” in the film, is a manmade creation intended to convert the arid steppe into fertile farmland, despite the displacement of Ukrainian farmers from their homes and orchards. 

Built by Soviet engineers, the station came to provide livelihoods for the population and habitats for animals. The hydroelectric station was subsequently destroyed during WWII, by retreating Soviet forces, causing a surge that historians estimate killed between 20 thousand to 100 thousand Soviet soldiers and civilians. The station was partially reconstructed by the Germans, only to be demolished once more during their retreat in 1943. On March 22, 2024, russia launched eight missiles at the power station, resulting in one of the most significant attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. This tragic event caused casualties, injuries, displacements, and left millions of residents in Kharkiv without power. Following the attack on Dnipro HPP, Russian troops targeted the Kaniv Hydroelectric Power Plant in Cherkasy Oblast and the Dnister Hydroelectric Power Plant in Chernivtsi Oblast in late March. On April 11, 2024, The Trypilska Thermal Power Plant (TPP), the largest supplier of electricity to Kyiv, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr regions, was completely destroyed, according to the energy company Centrenergo. The company lost 100% of its power generation across its three plants, which have all been destroyed or occupied by Russian forces.

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