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Attacks on Ukrainian nuclear-power plants challenge treaties

As the crisis at the Zaporizhzhia plant worsens, international agreements need to be extended to ensure nuclear safety during war.
  1. Anthony Burke

    1. Anthony Burke is a professor of environmental politics and international relations in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia.

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This year marked the first time in which civilian nuclear-power facilities have come under attack during war. As Russian armed forces pushed into Ukraine in February, troops took control of the Chernobyl nuclear exclusion zone, where hundreds of people still manage the aftermath of the catastrophic 1986 meltdown. Thousands of vehicles stirred up radioactive dust as they moved towards Kyiv. Russian soldiers worked and slept in the deadly ‘red zone’ near the abandoned city of Pripyat.

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Nature 611, 232-235 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03580-0

References

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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