--- title: "Russia Warns That Nuclear Plant It Captured May Leak Waste Over Europe" description: "Russia warned that the nuclear power plant it is occupying in southern Ukraine could suffer damage and result in an accident if shelling continues." date: "2022-08-18" modified: "2022-08-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/russia-warns-nuclear-plant-captured-leak-waste-europe" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "nuclear power" - "Russia" - "ukraine" --- # Russia Warns That Nuclear Plant It Captured May Leak Waste Over Europe ![Russia warned that the nuclear power plant it is occupying in southern Ukraine could suffer damage and result in an accident if shelling continues.]() *\Image: DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images\* Russia's Ministry of Defense has warned that the nuclear power plant it's currently occupying in southern Ukraine could suffer damage and result in an accident if shelling continues, [*CNBC* reports](). The news comes after both Russia and Ukraine [have accused each other]() of attacking the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — the largest nuclear power plant on the continent. The bottom line, of course, is that there's be no fighting there at all if Russia hadn't [invaded Ukraine this year](). Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s radioactive, chemical and biological defense forces, [told *Reuters*]() that the nuclear plant's backup support systems were damaged as a result of Ukraine's actions. According to Kirillov, an accident could cause radioactive material to cover Germany, Poland, and Slovakia. Russian forces occupied the facility in March, holding Ukrainian employees at the site [at gunpoint](). The latest accusations and finger pointing serve as a dangerous escalation. Ukrainian officials recently accused Russia of using the plant as "a shield," because Ukrainian forces wouldn't dare strike the facility. "The Ukrainian Armed Forces know that these are Ukrainian personnel and this is a Ukrainian plant and there are Ukrainian people \[there\] so we aren't going to kill our people, our staff and damage our infrastructure," Petro Kotin, head of Energoatom, Ukraine's state enterprise in charge of operating the country's nuclear plants, [told the *BBC*]() earlier this month. It's a precarious situation. According to *CNBC*, while an accident can't technically result in the kind of meltdown that caused the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, the risks are still high. If containment walls were to be breached, radioactive material, including from spent fuel pools, could leak. And that has the international community worried. Last week, officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, said they were alarmed by Russia's bombing near the nuclear power plant. "This is a serious hour, a grave hour and the IAEA must be allowed to conduct its mission to Zaporizhzhia as soon as possible," IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi told the UN's Security Council last week, as [quoted by *Reuters*](). Yet Russia maintains that Ukrainian forces are shelling the site themselves, potentially risking a catastrophe. On Twitter, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak pointed out an obvious solution: "You simply have to remove the UF from shops, demine buildings, release the workers, stop shelling from the \[power plant complex\] and leave the station." "It's simple, isn't it?" he added. **READ MORE:** [Russia warns radioactive waste could hit Germany if accident occurs at damaged nuclear power plant]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on the situation:** *[Officials Beg Russia to Stop Bombing Near Europe's Largest]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()