Ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, western commentators, policy advisers, and political leaders have raised the spectre of nuclear war to argue against supplying Ukrainians with weapons of self-defence for fear of provoking Russia. But this cautious approach could backfire, leading us closer to nuclear catastrophe.
For Ukrainians, the question of whether Russia will sabotage the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Europe’s largest, located in southern Ukraine, has long been a “when”, not an “if”. Last week, Ukrainian civilians and officials shared panicked messages on social media as fears of a potential attack crystallised. Russian embassies and Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson appeared to be preparing disinformation lines, suggesting that Ukraine, which suffered so terribly from the Chornobyl nuclear accident, could deliberately unleash radioactive terror on its own people.
