NUCLEAR SAFETY | CONSIDERING CONFLICT the war, the Russians fired conventional munitions into
the decommissioning Chornobyl NPP complex. Later in the conflict, Defence Intelligence of Ukraine claimed Kyiv had mounted a drone strike on Russian soldiers billeted at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. It is axiomatic that munitions – even GPS-guided munitions – are not 100% reliable. Power units (combustion, jet or rocket engines) can malfunction. They can run out of fuel. Guidance systems can malfunction or be jammed. Guidance systems can be mis-programmed by exhausted and stressed troops. Munitions can be intercepted, generating shrapnel with high kinetic energy. Using munitions in proximity to NPP reactor containments is always risky. External power supplies have been targeted. Nuclear power plants draw electrical power from the high-voltage grid for reactor cooling. When this supply fails, the NPP must use its back-up diesel generators – a last line of defence. Ukraine’s NPPs have had their external electricity supply interrupted multiple times. Interruptions spark furious exchanges, with Ukraine accusing Russia of targeting infrastructure critical to the safe operation of its NPPs and Russia accusing Ukraine of destroying pylons and sub- stations to cast Russia in a bad light. There have been near-misses. Munitions have detonated
close to NPP reactor containments. Plants have been overflown by Russian cruise and ballistic missiles. Nuclear propaganda has thickened the fog of war.
Top: Administrative buildings at the Zaporizhzhia NPP have been targeted Above: Israeli fighter bombers attacked the Osiraq reactor
while under construction in Iraq in 1981 Photo credit: Meoita/
Shutterstock.com
Wars are fought in two domains. First, in the physical domain of armed combat. Secondly, in the ideological- doctrinal domain of propaganda and messaging. The propaganda potential of Ukraine’s NPPs has been exploited by both sides, with each accusing the other of behaving irresponsibly in the vicinity of NPPs. The resulting war of words has rendered the fog of war more impenetrable.
Confict Attack launched by Iran-Iraq War,
Iran
also known as The War of the Cities (1980-1988)
Iran-Iraq War Iraq-Israel tensions Gulf War I (Operation Desert Storm, 1991)
Gulf War I (Operation Desert Storm, 1991) and Gulf War II (Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003)
Iraq Israel Iraq United States
Target Osiraq reactor, Al Tuwaitha nuclear facility, Iraq Bushehr nuclear facility, Iran Osiraq reactor, Al Tuwaitha nuclear facility, Iraq Dimona nuclear facility, Israel Al Tuwaitha nuclear facility, Iraq Ballistic missiles Fighter-bombers Fighter-bombers Fighter-bombers
Means Fighter-bombers
Syria-Israel tensions
Israel
al-Kubar nuclear facility in Syria’s Deir al-Zour province
Fighter-bombers
40 | October 2023 |
www.neimagazine.com
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