By Bond Robertson 
There are continuing reports of new threats to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
Just two weeks ago, there was a new panic with historic resonance when a cooling tower at the Chernobyl-like facility caught fire.
Ukrainian forces are also approaching a Russian nuclear power plant in Kursk, and the Russian Foreign Ministry has already requested an urgent case from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Now, renowned Harvard historian Serhij Plokhy is warning that the world faces a major threat from nuclear power plants in war zones.
“Now that Russia has pointed the finger at the IAEA, perhaps this is an opportunity to consider how unprepared we really are to deal with a nuclear crisis during wartime,” he says.
scary element
Blokhy had previously written about the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
The book became the source for an HBO series about the disaster the following year. The historian has a strong connection to history and the region. He was born in Zaporizhia and grew up near the nuclear power plant.
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He was 19 years old when the world's most serious nuclear accident to date occurred.
His new book, “Chernobyl Roulette,” due out next month, offers insight into how nuclear power plants have become a fearsome element on today's battlefield.
Plokhy believes that the IAEA has so far been unable to prevent the risks associated with such facilities.
– Until we figure out how to protect existing nuclear power plants, we have no right to build new ones.
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Photos released by the Ukrainian presidential press office on August 11, 2024, show a fire in a cooling tower at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Energodar, southern Ukraine. Photo: Release / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / NTB / AFP
– Extreme negligence
Russia has invited Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to visit the Kursk facility, which could provide an initial opportunity to discuss new safety protocols. But Grossi’s assessment of the facility as a “Chernobyl-like facility” is raising concerns.
He speaks of what he believes is Russian arrogance after the facility was occupied.
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“The words I would use are ‘extreme recklessness.’ Total disregard for human health and life. From that perspective, it appears that very little has changed since 1986 when it comes to Russian political culture,” he says of the operation.
Drilling in radioactive soil
Plokhy's previous books have emphasized that the 1986 disaster was the result not only of outdated technology, but also of a leadership system that fatally prioritized party politics over science, health, and safety.
He highlights an episode from today’s Russian occupation to highlight this recklessness. Russian forces have dug trenches for soldiers and vehicles in an area known as the “Red Forest,” west of the decommissioned Chernobyl reactor.
“Being there as a tourist is not dangerous, as long as you don’t touch anything or dig in the ground,” said Astrid Leland, emergency manager at the Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Directorate (DSA). We will see you After detection.
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She said the area around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor was one of the most radioactive places in the world. Evidence suggested that conscripts, without any protective equipment, were digging relentlessly through some of the most toxic radioactive soil.
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Watch the video: It hasn't happened since World War II.
This drone image shows trenches dug by Russian forces in the radioactive red forest. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Refuse to hand over control
The book also depicts a dramatic scene where the Russian military command entered the control room of the Chernobyl plant without any plan for how to deal with the plant.
Ukrainian experts on the site refused to hand over control, knowing that would put security responsibility on the Russians, according to Plokhy.
Plokhy stresses the need to raise awareness of the nuclear threat that the war in Ukraine has exposed. Despite the growing risks, some still see nuclear power as a saving grace, both financially and in the fight against climate change.