Behind Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear power plants

Russia’s attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine early Friday has raised fears of a disaster that could impact all of central Europe for decades.

Russia’s attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine early Friday has raised fears of a disaster that could impact all of central Europe for decades.

The shelling on Zaporizhzhia — located near the town of Energodar — has resulted in at least one fire which was extinguished by local firefighters, according to Ukrainian and UN officials.

Just over a week earlier, Russian forces captured the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, a site responsible for a botched security test that sent clouds of nuclear smoke across much of Europe in 1986, now known as the worst nuclear disaster in history.

These attacks are about the seizure of national infrastructure, according to Allen Sens, a professor in the department of political science at the University of British Columbia.

“It’s really difficult at this time to say why the plant came under fire but it’s pretty easy to say why the Russians were advancing on the plant and trying to seize it,” he said.

“Remember, a stated Russian objective is to conquer Ukraine and bring Ukraine back into the Russian orbit so there’s also some interest in maintaining some critical infrastructure.”

Although, “one of the stupidest things anybody could do is bring fire onto a nuclear power plant,” he said. If Russia were to control Ukraine’s nuclear reactors, they would also be controlling much of the country’s power, Sens added.

Last year, Ukraine got over 50 per cent of its electricity from nuclear reactors, according to M.V. Ramana, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s school of public policy and global affairs.