The nuclear spectre has hung in the air throughout the war in Ukraine, but Kyiv has this week stressed the country ought not to panic.
A nuclear disaster has been averted despite the recent destruction of a dam on the Dnipro River which deprived the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant—the biggest in Europe—of its main source of cooling water. The event—and Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim Russia was planning a terror attack in the form of a radiation leak (a lie, according to the Kremlin)—is said to have put Ukrainians on alert.
Reports point in particular to an increased demand for iodine—millions of tablets of which have been donated by the European Union—due to its quality of helping to block the absorption of radioactive iodine. Many pharmacies, AFP notes, have seen a sky rocketing of requests.
Ukrainian officials have, however, warned of the dangers relating to the incorrect use of the tablets, and have said there is no reason to be more afraid now than before.
Commenting on the latest developments, the Ukrainian health ministry told citizens to
Read and share but don’t panic! Don’t play the enemy’s game. President Zelensky said nothing new. Russia is a terrorist country from which, like a monkey with a grenade, you can expect anything.
It added in a separate statement that “the uncontrolled intake of potassium iodide is dangerous.”
U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi is set to arrive in Kaliningrad later today to meet with the head of Russia’s nuclear agency. President Zelensky has also held a briefing with G7 and G20 representatives on the current situation, arguing that the “full de-occupation” of the Zaporizhzhia plant by Russia is “a must.”
“Anyone,” he added, “who turns a blind eye to [the] Russian occupation of such a facility, to Russian mining of the territory and facilities of the nuclear power plant, is actually contributing not only to this Russian evil, but also to terror in general.”
