Now it appears that the EU and the U.S. have picked the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station (ZNPS) as the new propaganda issue to use against Russia, playing on global fears of another Chernobyl, which was also located in Ukraine.
Now it appears that the EU and the U.S. have picked the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station (ZNPS) as the new propaganda issue to use against Russia, playing on global fears of another Chernobyl, which was also located in Ukraine.
It’s shut down completely. No meltdown for sure. Maybe some radioactive debris, but that’s like 10-20 km radius of danger.
It’s not really possible though. First, just shutting down won’t magically make meltdown impossible, and properly dismantling dangerous parts is a huge operation probably impossible to do in the current conditions. And imagine what would happen if Ukraine shelled that operation in progress. Which would be immediately blamed solely on Russia as purposeful act of nuclear attack on Ukraine. That’s serious risk of WW3 starting right there.
Second, this plant supply electricity to big chunk of country, in both sides of the front (afaik Russians did not stopped electricity deliveries), so if they just shut it down not only it would seriously adverse everyone lives there, but it would also be immediately used by the western propaganda too.
You just can’t win like that, the only realistic option is to render UA army unable to strike the facility.
Article also says the meltdown is very unlikely to happen even in case of direct artillery strike, so there’s not this much of a risk there.