Prof. Christopher Peters interviewed on FOX29 Philadelphia in response to Russia’s seizure of a nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The Zaporizhzhya facility, which is located about 350 miles southeast of Kyiv is Europe's largest nuclear power plant. Russia has already seized the Chernobyl plant and is reported to be advancing on a third in Yuzhnoukrainsk.
According to Peters, “Any time you control the power of a country, you can control the country itself.” He goes on to say that he believes the intent was to shock the people of Ukraine, and that if Russia wanted to hit the plant they would have hit the plant. Ukranian President Volodymy Zelenskyy accused Russia of “nuclear terror” after the attack.
Nuclear power is one of the only powers where you can “turn it off,” but it still keeps on producing power through the radioactive decay. In the event that the reactor core is without a steady coolant supply, it could result in partial or full meltdown (much like the Chernobyl accident in 1986). “My personal belief is that the capture of Chernobyl was more symbolic and taking this plant provides 20-25% of Ukraine’s power and that is a lot of power,” shared Peters.
View FOX29 Philadelphia interview here.