The horrific terrorist attack on the Zaporizhzhia NPP planned by russia will have irreparable consequences for the whole world. Find out what the state of the nuclear power plant is now and what threatens the world as a result of the explosion at the NPP

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On June 22, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that russia had additionally mined the Zaporizhzhia NPP and was planning to commit a terrorist attack with the release of radioactive substances. The nuclear blackmail used by russia throughout the full-scale invasion knows no bounds and defies any common sense, and today it is difficult to imagine the scale of the radioactive disaster that would result from the explosion of a nuclear power plant. At the same time, even the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster do not stop russia.

The Chornobyl NPP accident: an excursion into history and connection to the present

On April 26, 1986, the largest man-made accident of the twentieth century occurred. Two explosions at the fourth reactor of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant led to a massive fire and the release of huge amounts of radioactive substances into the atmosphere. 

The accident caused catastrophic environmental pollution. Not only Ukraine, Belarus, and russia were affected by the radiation, but also European countries, including Poland, Germany, Austria, Great Britain, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland. And this is only a part of the countries that have experienced the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster. The territory of Prypiat, where the nuclear power plant is located, is still uninhabitable.

The exact number of victims of the Chornobyl disaster has not been established, as thousands of people died not in the early days of radiation sickness, but years later, fighting cancer caused by radiation exposure.

It should be noted that the Soviet authorities in moscow concealed the fact of the accident to the last, hushed up the terrible consequences of the disaster and issued official decrees prohibiting the dissemination of information about the explosions at the nuclear power plant, let alone the release of radiation. Moreover, the authorities took control of outgoing correspondence and restricted international communication.

The catastrophe became public only after the Swedes recorded an increased level of radiation on their territory and demanded comments and explanations from the Soviet authorities.

And today we see that by blackmailing the world with nuclear weapons and mining the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, russia continues to follow the footsteps of Soviet ideology, which did not see any value in human lives.

What is happening at Zaporizhzhia NPP?

The occupiers seized the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP in the spring of 2022, and since then they have been in full control of the plant. Throughout the full-scale invasion, the russian authorities have been staging provocations with shelling on its territory, accusing Ukraine of doing so.

Today, the territory of Zaporizhzhya NPP is mined, and there is evidence that explosives are placed in the turbine hall, near the power units and in the industrial zone around the plant. According to recent reports, russia has also mined the spillway structures connecting the cooler and reactors, but the IAEA has not confirmed this information.

In addition, there are about 3,500 russians on the territory of the nuclear power plant, who have deployed military equipment, missile systems and heavy weapons around the perimeter of the plant.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that despite the fact that the presence of any explosives at the plant does not meet safety standards, the location of the mines is not critical, and in the event of an explosion, the basic safety functions of the plant will not be significantly affected. 

It sounds like madness, because the whole world is facing the threat of blowing up one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world, but instead of putting pressure on russia to leave the site, we hear comments from world leaders about how safe the mines are at the power units.

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Possible consequences of a terrorist attack at Zaporizhzhya NPP

Up to 18,000 fuel assemblies are stored in the plant's six reactors and in the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, which is several times more than at the Chernobyl plant. If russia strikes at all the power units, destroying the reactor shell, the world will face an unprecedented catastrophe.

Among the likely consequences of the explosion of the ZNPP, experts highlight:

● The potential exclusion zone will reach 30,000 square kilometers, which is larger than the area of the Kyiv region or approximately the area of half of Lithuania, which is just over 65,000 square kilometers.

● The radioactive contamination would have spread over an area of about 2 million square kilometers, which means that the entire European population would have been affected by the disaster.

● The Zaporizhzhia region and neighboring regions could become uninhabitable for hundreds of years.

● About a million people are at risk of radiation poisoning, while tens of thousands may die in the first hours from radiation sickness.

● The Dnipro River, as well as the Black and Azov Seas, will be contaminated with radiation.

The specific consequences will depend on weather conditions, precipitation, and wind speed. The radioactive cloud can cover any country, and no one will be immune to the consequences of russian terror, not even moscow itself.

What to do in the event of a ZNPP explosion?

1. Stay in a shelter

   ● Try to stay away from walls, roofs, windows and doors, seal all openings with a damp cloth or tape.

   ● Turn off external ventilation (air conditioners, heaters).

2. Follow only official sources of information (messages from the State Emergency Service, police, authorities in the appropriate channels, or on television/radio).

3. Take care of decontamination (take off the clothes you were wearing at the time of the accident, pack them hermetically and keep them away from people and animals). If possible, take a shower, but do not use running water from the tap (do not rub your skin and do not use products that can fix radioactive elements on your body, such as hair conditioner). Change into clean clothes.

4. Use safety equipment (gloves, gauze bandage, respirator).

5. Do not consume food and water that were not hermetically sealed at the time of the release of radioactive substances.

6. Do not leave the shelter until informed by the authorities.

Read here to find out whether it is advisable to take potassium iodide in the event of an accident at Zaporizhzhia NPP. 

Today, the world is facing the threat of a catastrophe with unprecedented consequences. And after russia blew up the Kakhovka Dam, there is no doubt that human life and global security are nothing to the terrorist country. That is why, unfortunately, we have no guarantees and are not protected from putin's madness. 

The entire world must act decisively and unitedly to liberate the territory of the Zaporizhzhya NPP from the russian army and prevent a nuclear disaster.

We remind you! The water is gradually receding from the flooded areas of Kherson region, and people have begun to return to their homes. Read more about the rules you need to know to avoid endangering your life if you return to previously flooded areas here.

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