An attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant attack would be "akin" to another Chernobyl with radiation potentially spreading to the West, one of Britain’s foremost military experts has warned.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that Russia has left apparent “explosives” on the plant, which is the largest of its kind in Europe.
Some residents close to the plant have fled amid concern this could herald a ‘false flag’ operation on the plant, which has been in Russian hands since February 2022.
Professor Michael Clarke, a visiting professor at King’s College London, said that if an explosion were to disturb the plant’s reactors, “it would be something akin to Chernobyl in 1986.”
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “Although these plants are all powered down, they’re not working, they still have fuel rods in them, the rods have got to be kept cool.
“If they are exploded, it would still cause damage and they will probably overheat, even in their passive state, so there will be some nuclear fallout.
“And then it depends which way the wind is blowing. It might blow over Russia but equally it might blow over the West, Western Europe.”
Professor Clarke added: “We’ve reached the point now of maximum fear. But are they mad enough to do it? Yes they are.”
Ukraine and Russia have regularly accused each other of planning to attack the power plant and risking nuclear catastrophe.
Speaking on Tuesday night in his nightly national address, Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We have information from our intelligence that the Russian troops have placed objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“Perhaps to simulate an attack on the plant.”,
The apparent explosives have been positioned on the roof of several power units of the power plant, he said.
The rhetoric has heightened concerns among residents living close to the plant, with Ukrainian officials issuing instructions on how to leave a radiation zone on Tuesday night on social media.
However, Russia has insisted that Ukraine is also plotting to carry out an attack on the plant.
Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of Rosenergoatom, which operates Russia’s nuclear network, said Ukraine planned to drop ammunition laced with nuclear waste transported from another of the country’s five nuclear stations on the plant.
“Under cover of darkness overnight on 5th July, the Ukrainian military will try to attack the Zaporizhzhia station using long-range precision equipment and kamikaze attack drones," Russian news agencies quoted Karchaa as telling Russian television.
He offered no evidence in support of his allegation.
The IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, has been trying for more than a year to clinch a deal to ensure the plant is demilitarised and reduce the risks of any nuclear accident.
Its director general Rafael Grossi has visited the plant three times since the Russian takeover but failed to reach any agreement to keep the facility safe from shelling.
