Abdul Moiz Khan

Opinion | World must agree nuclear plants are off limits even in wartime

The Ukraine war has exposed the vulnerability of civilian nuclear facilities when war erupts. Could a no-attack agreement plug the security gap?

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The Kursk nuclear power plant is seen from the town of Kurchatov in the Kursk region, Russia, on August 27. Photo: Reuters

Abdul Moiz Khan

Published: 9:30am, 27 Sep 2024

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has again highlighted the importance of nuclear power plant security. Since the start of the war, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been under threat and, recently, amid Ukraine’s incursions into Russia, attacks close to the Kursk nuclear power plant have also raised safety fears.

This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the United Nations that Russia was planning attacks on his country’s nuclear power plants, warning of a possible “nuclear disaster”.

These concerns highlight the vulnerability of nuclear installations to conventional attacks, especially in a broader conflict.

In this context, the non-attack agreement between India and Pakistan – in which they pledged not to attack each other’s nuclear installations or facilities – can serve as a template of responsible behaviour. It could help reduce the chances of a nuclear accident during a conflict.

The war in Ukraine marks the first time conflict has occurred in an area housing a major nuclear programme. Shortly after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, they captured the entire area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the Zaporizhzhia plant. Russia returned control of the Chernobyl plant to Ukraine after about a month.

Unlike Chernobyl, however, Zaporizhzhia was an operational plant when it was captured. It is Europe’s largest nuclear plant with six pressurised light water nuclear reactors. With a generation capacity of 5,700 megawatts, the plant was the source of 30 per cent of Ukrainian electricity needs.

The facility is now at risk because of the constant shelling and firing nearby. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that there have been at least three attacks against it since April 7. Any release of deadly radiation into the atmosphere could lead to catastrophe.