anything happens disaster. so a big risk here that anything happens to disaster. so a big risk here that anything happens to stop - disaster. so a big risk here that anything happens to stop them | anything happens to stop them calling down, but it is still unclear it was a deliberate target, the nuclear plant, is that right? that s right. when i first heard the news last night, i wondered if the russians were intentionally trying to cause a nuclear disaster. it seems that as there campaign has slowed they have turned to the deliberate targeting of civilians and this would certainly be an act of terror. even just the fears that the reactor could meltdown have caused a lot of terror. but now they have taken control of the plant, i m beginning to wonder if maybe the goal is to control the plant. it provides about 20% of ukraine s power, so if russia threatens to turn off the power, they could use that as a tool of coercion to strengthen their own hand and weaken the ukrainians in the
us why that is. the radioactive core of a nuclear power us why that is. the radioactive core of a nuclear power plant us why that is. the radioactive core of a nuclear power plant is - us why that is. the radioactive core of a nuclear power plant is very - of a nuclear power plant is very hot, and in the spent fuel rods, after they are run through the reactor are hot, and they are on site and so there are elaborate cooling systems to keep them from melting down. but if the plant comes under attack, melting down. but if the plant comes underattack, if melting down. but if the plant comes under attack, if the systems lose power, if there is a crack in the vessel that contains the water for the cooling, then those systems could fail. that is what we saw at fukushima. the term nuclear meltdown comes from the fact the car or the fuel could literally melt down into the earth, into the water supply. this reactor is right on the dnieper river. it is quite common to site reactors on the riv
chernobyl accident, but the primary concern here is that the electricity supply gets cut off, it stops the pumps from working that cool the reactor. and if that were to happen, the nuclear fuel inside would melt down, so it s really important that the russian forces and the ukrainian forces stop firing in the direction of the power stations. this loss of cooling was what caused the nuclear disaster at fukushima injapan in 2011. but while that was triggered by a natural disaster, a tsunami, the invasion of ukraine has brought conflict close to working nu clear rea cto i’s . with the russians now controlling the site, the immediate danger has passed. but concern remains over why a nuclear plant was a military target. victoria gill, bbc news. for more on this i am nowjoined by matthew kroenig in washington dc. he is a nuclear expert at the atlantic council. as an expert in this field, how alarmed were you when you heard this