The specter of nuclear war cast a long shadow over the 20th century, serving as a reminder of humanity's capacity for self-destruction. Now, as the world seems to shrug off Russia’s nuclear saber-rattling against Ukraine — and by extension, all of humanity — a haunting question calls for an answer: Have
"Russia continues to expand its army and shows no change in its deranged, anti-human state rhetoric," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva said his country is willing to maintain stable relations with the U.S. administration but emphasized that Washington has yet to take concrete steps toward resuming arms control discussions.
"A nuclear accident can result from a direct attack on a plant, but also from power supply disruption," Director General Rafael Grossi said during his visit to Kyiv on Feb. 4.
"As long as this horrific war continues, the IAEA will remain present and stay active, focused on doing everything we can to support nuclear safety and security in extremely challenging circumstances," Director General Rafael Grossi said.
In a video message to the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his desire for "denuclearisation" and reiterated his call for trilateral discussions involving the U.S., Russia, and China.
The 35-nation IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution condemning attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure but did not explicitly name Russia as responsible, Reuters reported on Dec. 12.
Zelensky added that effective guarantees are currently needed for Ukraine's security, namely "real alliances and a real security foundation within the country," as well as "weapons that enable defense and deterrence of the enemy."
Nuclear power plants in Ukraine reduced electricity production on Nov. 28 as a precautionary measure in response to a Russian mass aerial attack on Ukraine, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
IAEA experts may only remain at the occupied nuclear facility "as long as our country considers their stay there to be justified," Russia's Foreign Ministry warned.
"Russia thinks they are very strong, but if we wanted to seize their nuclear power plant, we would have done it, we could have done it, but we never wanted to do it," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"There is no benefit to our nations or the world to forestall progress on reducing nuclear arsenals. Reducing the nuclear threat is important not despite the dangers of today’s world but precisely because of them," President Joe Biden said.
Ukraine is set to face its toughest winter since the start of the full-scale invasion as Russia eyes cutting off its nuclear power after already bombing out capacity from half of its electricity generation sector in large-scale air strikes. For now, Russia is not directly striking the plants with missiles
President Volodymyr Zelensky told the U.N. Security Council on Sept. 24 that Russia was preparing to target three Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
Ukraine's state nuclear energy agency Energoatom signed on Sept. 25 a contract worth Hr 509 million ($12.3 million) for the design and construction of a protective structure at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, Ukrainian investigative media outlet Nashi Groshi reported on Sept. 30.
Key developments on Sept. 29: * Zelensky says Putin 'afraid' to use nuclear weapons because he 'loves his life' * Russia's attack on Zaporizhzhia destroys apartment building, injures 16 * Ukraine strikes Russian military arsenal storing missiles and drones in Volgograd Oblast * Russia claims 125 Ukrainian drones intercepted across 7 regions President Volodymyr
An attack on Belarus would lead to World War III, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko claimed on Sept. 27, following Russian President Vladimir Putin's call to update Russia's nuclear doctrine, according to the Belarusian state-owned news agency Belta. Putin proposed a series of changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine on Sept. 25
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a series of changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine on Sept. 25 during a Security Council meeting on nuclear deterrence, Russia's state-owned outlet Ria Novosti reported. Throughout the war, the Kremlin has repeatedly laid down red lines, which it has said could provoke a nuclear response
The possible targets include open distribution devices at nuclear power plants and transmission substations, "which are essential for the safe functioning of the nuclear energy system," according to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
Donald Trump Jr. and former U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. opposed permitting Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-supplied long-range missiles, calling on the Biden-Harris administration to negotiate with Moscow.
The facility is housing Russia's National Guard units totaling up to 1,300 people, the center said, citing data from Ukrainian citizens on the ground.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will increase its monitoring missions to Ukrainian facilities critical to nuclear safety, Ukraine's state nuclear energy company Energoatom reported on Sept. 13.
"There was a moment in the fall of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of a potential use of tactical nuclear weapons," CIA head Bill Burns said, referring to the time around Ukrainian counteroffensives in Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts.
Seven weeks into Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a thinly veiled threat toward Ukraine and its allies during a Russian Security Council meeting on nuclear deterrence. "An aggression by a non-nuclear state with the participation of a nuclear state is proposed to be considered
Damage to another overhead power line will lead to an emergency at the plant, according to the state nuclear energy company.
A day prior, Rafael Grossi, the director of the IAEA, visited the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant following allegations from Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials that Ukraine has tried – or intends to try – to attack the plant amid the ongoing Ukrainian incursion in the area.
The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is located nearly 80 kilometers (49 miles) from the town of Sudzha, which was captured by Ukrainian forces in mid-August during Kyiv's ongoing incursion into Kursk Oblast.
"Nuclear power plants are designed to be resilient against technical or human failures and external events including extreme ones, but they are not built to withstand a direct military attack."
The document will be mainly focused on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power station in Europe, which has been under Russian occupation since March 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The loss of the station further limits the Russian-occupied nuclear plant's external capacity to detect radiation release in an emergency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a now-rare press conference with senior editors from international media outlets on June 5. Putin blamed Ukraine and the West for Russia's war crimes, and made a new round of threats and jaw-dropping lies. The Kyiv Independent examines some of the more notable statements. 'World
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest nuclear power station in Europe, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.
