Warnings of Nuclear Catastrophe as Power Plants in Russia and Ukraine at Risk Amid Escalating War

As Ukrainian forces press their counteroffensive deeper into Russian territory, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned of the heightened risk of a nuclear catastrophe from fighting near the Kursk power plant. The war between the two countries, now in its third year, has also impacted the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, controlled by Russian forces in the occupied southeastern part of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both signaled the war is likely to drag on for the foreseeable future. For more on the risk of nuclear disasters and possible peace talks to end the fighting, we speak with Vladimir Slivyak, co-chair of the Russian environmental organization Ecodefense, and foreign policy expert Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and a former adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders.

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