On the 24th of February, 2022, a Russian military convoy arrived at the Chernobyl nuclear facility in the north of Ukraine. Moscow had sent instructions to seize control, and the Russian officials stated their intentions to act accordingly if faced with opposition. Command from the Ukrainian National Guard advised his men to relinquish their arms ‘to avoid jeopardising the site and a further nuclear crisis.’ This marked the commencement of a 35-day seizure of the facility.
When enlightening President Joe Biden about Russia’s strategies to launch a large-scale onslaught on Ukraine, General Mark A Milley indicated on a map that Russia’s course would likely avoid the Chernobyl exclusion area, en route to the capital, Kyiv, situated 194km south of the plant. As Ukrainian scholar, Serhii Plokhy, questions, ‘why would any cogent individual direct troops into a zone destroyed by nuclear disaster?’
This lingering question forms the backdrop of Plokhy’s second book about the infamous nuclear disaster site, titled ‘Chernobyl Roulette’, succeeding his 2018 book ‘Chernobyl: History Of A Tragedy.’ In the concluding chapter, Plokhy proposes an explanation: the acts were executed to accomplish geostrategic objectives, paying no heed to the wellbeing of their soldiers, lawfulness, or Russia’s international obligations.
Even though Ukraine had committed to the non-proliferation treaty as a non-nuclear nation, Russian leader Vladimir Putin defended his actions on the basis that Ukraine was planning to create nuclear weaponry, stating ‘the real danger’ could not be ignored and necessitated reaction.
Night shift supervisor Valentyn Heiko, along with his team of technicians, continued working at the facility, despite the potential harm to their reputations and health, as they comprehended the gravity of the situation. Gradually, they made the true peril evident to their invaders.
A successful counterstrike from Ukraine in the northern regions led to the Russian troop’s retreat five weeks later, though Russia retains control over Zaporizhia, the largest nuclear facility in Europe, positioned in southern Ukraine. Plokhy ends his compelling and unnerving narrative, questioning the efficacy of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which abstained from acknowledging Russia as an offender, much less insisting on their retreat. He warns that unless nuclear reactors are safeguarded from wartime assault, the notion of nuclear power becoming a ‘destroyer of human existence and an agent of ecocide’ will only become ingrained.