Russia’s persistence in using the Ukrainian nuclear plant at Zaporizhzhya, occupied by its troops, as leverage could be a sign that the aggressor is in trouble militarily. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s relevant claims are obviously correct on one point: if Russian units open fire on Ukrainians from positions close to the reactors, they will be more or less immune to retaliatory attacks. After all, a mistake by Ukrainian defenders could provoke a nuclear catastrophe that will affect not only Ukraine and Russia.

That alone should be a reason for both warring parties to end nuclear poker as quickly as possible. A large area around the nuclear plant must be demilitarized. The International Atomic Energy Agency must have access to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to verify the operational safety of the facility. It would be in the interest of both parties to agree to this. From the beginning of the war, the Russian side showed that in the near future it would not be overcome in terms of lack of scruples. But what was possible with the export of grain must also be possible with the prevention of a nuclear catastrophe and radioactive pollution of large areas.

Author: Peter Sturm, columnist for the newspaper FAZ

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung website

The commentary expresses the author’s personal opinion. It may not agree with the opinion of Russian editors and Deutsche Welle in general.