preface
Recently, the Russian-Ukrainian border conflict escalated, the Russian army carried out a number of military strikes on Ukraine, the Ukrainian president announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia, the Russian army also occupied the "Chernobyl nuclear power plant" on February 25, the nuclear power plant was not damaged in the conflict, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant once again appeared in people's vision, do you remember the Chernobyl nuclear leak on April 26, 1986? This is the darkest day in the history of the peaceful use of nuclear energy by mankind, which has been remembered by the whole world to this day, and has also brought great pain to many countries. Why did the Russians have to occupy this place?
Russian occupation of Chernobyl (picture from the Internet)
Where is the Chernobyl nuclear power plant?
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, formerly known as the Lenin Chernobyl nuclear power plant, was the first nuclear power plant built in Ukraine during the former Soviet era and is now in use. In 1986, the plant's unit FOUR exploded, triggering the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is located near the town of Pripyat in the Kiev Oblast of Ukraine, 16 km from the border between Ukraine and Belarus, 18 km northwest of the city of Chernobyl and 110 km north of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
The location of the Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine
The plan to build the plant was originally intended to build the plant just 25 kilometers from Kiev, but the scientific community feared that the plant was too close to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and gradually changed its current location.
The distance from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was once considered the "safest and most reliable" nuclear power plant, and in order to solve the electricity load in the southwestern part of the Soviet Union such as Ukraine and Belarus, and to establish the image of the Soviet Union as "peaceful use of nuclear energy", the Soviet government decided to build the largest nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian region at that time.
The project began in 1970, and in 1972 construction began on the nuclear power plant, which was planned to be equipped with six nuclear reactors. Four Soviet-type graphite 1000 reactors (RBMK-1000) were built and put into power generation in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1983, each capable of generating 1 gigawatt of electricity. By the time of the accident, four reactors had borne 10 percent of Ukraine's electricity supply at the time, and a fifth reactor was about to be completed and put into operation.
Chernobyl nuclear leak
On April 26, 1986, at 1:23:45 a.m. (UTC+3), the plant's Unit IV suddenly exploded during an experiment, one of the worst nuclear power plant accidents to date. In order to curb nuclear radiation and prevent more serious explosions at Reactor 4, accident personnel covered reactor 4 with a protective layer of reinforced concrete known as a "sarcophagus", and residents within 30 kilometers of the vicinity were evacuated by the authorities.
After the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (picture from the network)
Although there was a serious explosion accident, the other units separated from Unit 4 by a wall were not damaged.
Abandoned Chernobyl nuclear power plant
After the accident, the construction of Reactors No. 5 and No. 6 was shelved, but to alleviate the shortage of electricity in the Ukrainian region, the other three units of the nuclear power plant continued to work to generate electricity.
Satellite image of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2002
On 11 October 1991, a fire broke out in the turbine room of Unit II of the nuclear power plant due to a hydrogen leak, resulting in the destruction of Turbine 4 of Unit 2, and after the fire it was discussed to replace turbine 7 of Unit 4, which exploded in 1986, but the plan was later shelved.
Satellite image of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2011
In order to eliminate the harm caused by the nuclear leak, the Soviet authorities decided to completely close the Chernobyl nuclear power plant at the end of 1993, but soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the newly independent Ukraine faced serious economic problems, and the power supply gap left by the closure of the nuclear power plant would be difficult to fill. In October 1993, the Ukrainian parliament revoked the decision to shut down nuclear power plants.
Satellite image of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2013
The continued operation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has seriously affected the development of relations between Ukraine and neighboring countries, and in December 1995 Ukraine signed a mutual memorandum of understanding with the seven Western countries and the European Union on the closure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in exchange for The assistance provided by the Western countries to Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine's agreement to close the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by 2000.
Satellite image of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2016
Ukraine shut down the older reactor I in 1996, leaving reactor III to continue working. At 13:15 on 15 December 2000 (UTC+3), then-Ukrainian President Kuchma formally issued an order to shut down Reactor III. At this point, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was completely shut down.
In 2008, the western façade of the "sarcophagus" built during the Soviet period began to collapse after years of natural erosion, and the sarcophagus "lifespan" was only 5 years, and the Ukrainian government had to raise funds to build a new protective cover. The "New Safe Closure" plan is to pan an arched building equivalent to the size of a gymnasium to a "sarcophagus" and then close the arched building, the new plan is called the "Ark", which is a large metal cover with a height of 110 meters, a width of 257 meters, a length of 150 meters, and a weight of 31,000 tons! The new protective cover was completed on November 29, 2016.
Before the new sarcophagus is covered (figure from the network)
The "sarcophagus" is co-funded by 40 countries, with 24 countries sending relevant staff and experts to participate in it, so this project is known as one of the largest engineering projects in the world. The current nuclear reactor is encapsulated in a stone view, and the designers hope that the shield will prevent further leakage of radioactive material for the next hundred years.
Newly completed "sarcophagus" in 2016 (picture from the Internet)
Satellite image of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2018
Satellite image of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2020
Why did the Russians want to occupy this place?
In Russia's military campaign against Ukraine, this dangerous abandoned nuclear power plant has become one of the focal points of contention between the two militaries.
Ukrainian officials say the Ukrainians have lost control of the nuclear facility and the fighting has been fought all night. Why would an abandoned nuclear power plant and the nuclear waste stored around it allow the Russian army to take it at great risk and cost? Perhaps it is related to the rationale of the mechanism of nuclear deterrence.
Abandonment of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (image from the network)
Although the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has long been abandoned and blockaded, if it is not closed by the "sarcophagus", the damaged reactor core will still release a huge amount of nuclear radiation, and at the same time, a large amount of nuclear waste is also placed in the surrounding area of the nuclear power plant, if these nuclear wastes are not destroyed during the war between the two sides, it will cause damage to the surrounding ecological environment again.
Nuclear hazards (figure from the network)
summary
The above is a brief introduction to the history and current situation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and the reason why the Russian army is so eager to occupy the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is most likely to prevent the destruction of reactors and nuclear waste in the conflict between the two sides, thus causing irreversible damage to people's lives and property.