Fighting between Russia, Ukraine Causes Fire at Europe’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant. Here’s What We Know So Far

“The real threat to Ukrainian lives continues to be the violent invasion and bombing of their country,” the group said in a statement.

US President Joe Biden also urged Russia to cease its military activities in the area and allow firefighters and emergency responders to access the site.

What is the danger of a meltdown?

The attack intensified fears about waging a modern war near nuclear reactors.

Nuclear expert Maria Rost Rublee told the ABC that problems would start if any of the plant’s six reactors lost their connection to the external grid.

If the Zaporizhzhia reactor lost connection to the external grid and diesel back-up generators failed, the ensuing nuclear disaster could potentially be worse than Chernobyl, Rublee said.

“This is quite dangerous. It’s exactly what we were warning about. This is the first time we’ve had active war carried out among active nuclear power plants.

“The real worry here is that firefighters and plant operators, because of the active war going on, won’t be able to get to the plant to take care of it the way it needs to happen.”

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University of Sydney expert David Fletcher said the plant’s cooling systems would be the focus.
“At present it seems as though it is only ancillary buildings that have been damaged by Russian missiles,” he said.

“The real concern is not a catastrophic explosion as happened at Chernobyl but damage to the cooling system which is required even when the reactor is shut down. It was this type of damage that led to the Fukushima accident.”

What could happen if a reactor is seriously damaged?

Rublee said any potential meltdown would have massive implications not just for Ukraine, but for the rest of Europe, including Russia, and even Australia.

“This is nuclear radiation being spread all across the region,” she said.

“It also affects Australia, because nuclear radiation cannot be contained by space and so it won’t be as bad as it will be for neighboring regions, but that goes into the atmosphere and that radiation affects all of us.”