The Washington Post - USA (2022-04-01)

A10 EZ RE THEWASHINGTONPOST.FRIDAY,APRIL 1 , 2022

Zaporizhzhiais still supplyingthe

Ukrainiangrid, thoughat are-

ducedcapacity.Electricitycon-

sumption is also downacrossthe

countryasmore thanaquarter of

the population has been dis-

placed; asizableproportionof

industriesand businesses have

eitherclosedor beendestroyed;

and lights acrossthe countrygo

offatnight to reducethe risk of

buildingsbeingatarget of Rus-

sian shelling.

Varash, on the otherhand,is

carryingon muchas usual.The

town’s 8,000-plusplant workers

areexemptfromconscriptioninto

the military. Fewhavefled. Buses

carrying workers to and fromthe

plant,whichloomsoverthewhole

city, bouncealong wideboule-

vards while their families go

abouttheirdaily lives.

Theplant,whichwas builtby

the SovietUnionin the 1970s, is

the entire reasonfor the city’s

existence.

About30 milessouthof the

borderwithBelarus,Varash is

otherwiserelativelysecluded and

in one of the fewareas of Ukraine

thatisstill largely forested.

Here, residentsworryabouta

recklessRussian attemptto take

overthe plantor even an errant

shellcausing areleaseof radia-

tion.

Cityofficialsare alreadytaking

steps to prepare,including giving

50,000residentspotassium io-

didetablets —whichcan help

blockthe absorption of radioac-

tive iodine in humans duringpro-

longed exposure.

Themayor,OleksandrMenzul,

49, worked for 25 yearsas asafety

adviser at the plant,planningfor

various scenariosthatcouldtrig-

gerameltdown.

“Wenever estimatedrisk of

Russian shelling,” he said.“Be-

causeit’s nonsense,right? Varash

doesn’t even have bombshelters,

because whowouldbombacity

withanuclearfacility?But for

Russia, an internationaldisaster

is justone mistakeaway. Interna-

tionallaw is adoormatthatthey

cleantheirfeeton.”

Menzul calmshimselfwiththe

possibilitythatinthe event of a

disaster in Varash, prevailing

windsmightcarrytheworstofthe

radioactivesteamfrom ablast

intonearbyBelarusor areasof

Ukraine now occupiedby Russia.

“Ifitblowsintheenemy’sdirec-

tion,at leastthere is some benefit

to us,”hesaid, nervouslychuck-

ling.

This week,the chiefofthe In-

ternational AtomicEnergyAgen-

cyarrivedinUkrainetooffertech-

nicalassistance,meetingwithGa-

lushchenkoand othertop offi-

cials.

“Therehave alreadybeensev-

eral closecalls.We can’t afford to

loseanymoretime,”RafaelMaria-

no Grossi, the agency’shead, said

BYMAXBEARAK

varash,ukraine—Thedirec-
tor of the largestnuclearpower
plantstill underUkrainiancon-
trol was exhausted, curt with his
replies and fidgeting with his
glasses, which he turnedaround
and aroundin his hands.
In the pasttwo weeks,
Ukraine’s military said it has shot
downtwoRussiandronesthat
approachedascloseasthreemiles
fromthe plant in the northwest-
ern cityofVarash,which supplies
12 percentofthe country’selec-
tricity—but thatwasn’t even the
biggest of Pavlo Pavlyshyn’s con-
cerns.
“I always believed thatafter the
Chernobyl disaster,Russians
weren’t insane enough to risk an-
otherone,”hesaid. “Buteveryday
theyarecommittingactsofterror,
nearor even inside eachof our
nuclearplants. Thechanceofan-
othercatastropheishigh.”
Chernobyl, while decommis-
sioned,housesthousandsofspent
cooling rodsthatifnot properly
caredfor couldlead to an increase
inradioactiveleakingatthesiteof
the world’s worstnucleardisaster
36 yearsago.
Russiansoldiers have occu-
piedthe site since the firstday of
the war and have stationed heavy
weaponryonit, Ukraine’s energy
minister,German Galushchen-
ko,said in an interview. On
Thursday evening,hesaid some
Russiantroopswerewithdraw-
ing fromthe “mainpart” of the
sitebutothersremainedandthat
“no one canpredicttheir next
steps.”
Militarization wasn’t the only
threat.Ukrainianstaffattheplant
haven’t hadaday offsince March
20 and are barelygetting sleep.A
poweroutagecoulddisruptthe
ventilation systemandlead to
overheating.
At Europe’sbiggest nuclear
plant,nearZaporizhzhiainsouth-
eastern Ukraine—which has
been underRussian occupation
sinceMarch 4—Galushchenko
saidbetween 300 and 500 Rus-
sian soldiers and as manyas
heavy vehiclesincluding tanks
werestationedwithinthe plant’s
perimeter.Totakecontrolof that
plant,Russianforces fired artil-
leryshells into one of the cooling
units.
“Theyintentionallyshelled it
withtanks.That wascraziness,”
Galushchenkosaid. “Wecame
very closetoadisaster.The first
unit of the plantwas hit. It was on
fire.Itshowswhattheyarewilling
to do.”
Besides the one in Varash, two
other smallerUkrainianplants
are still underUkrainiancontrol.
More thanhalfofUkraine’s elec-
tricityisprovided by nuclear
plants, and despite beingunder
Russian control, the plant in

As nuclear plants

become targets,

fears intensify

BYCLAIREPARKER

Thestoriesfrompeople fleeing
Mariupolare harrowing: dwin-
dlingfoodsupplies. No electricity
or water.Russian tanks roaming
the streets. Nights punctuated by
shelling.
ForSyrians, the accountsof life
in the southeastern Ukrainian
city,besiegedbyRussian forces,
sound eerily familiar.Rights
groups, officials and observers
have drawncomparisonstothe
brutaltactics Russia deployedto
turnthetideoftheSyriancivilwar
in favor of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad.
“We’restaggered by reallythe
amount of similarities,”saidDan-
iel Balson, advocacydirector for
Europe and Central Asia at Am-
nesty International.
Theconflicts are not the same:
In Ukraine, Russialauncheda
ground invasion and hassus-
tained significant casualties,
while in Syria, whereRussiainter-
vened in 2015, it mostlyoffered air
support.
But Russia continues to employ
weaponsand strategieshonedon
Syrian cities to deadly effect.
Syrians“have thebestexperi-
ence in dealing with the Russian
targeting of civilian neighbor-
hoods,”saidFarouqHabib,deputy
chair of external relationsfor the
Syria Civil Defense, the volunteer
search-and-rescue groupknown
as the WhiteHelmets.
Ukrainian officials have
warnedthatMariupol is “becom-
ing asecondAleppo.”Manolis An-
droulakis, Greece’sconsulgeneral

in Mariupolwho becamethe last

EuropeanUniondiplomattoleave

the citylastmonth, said it willjoin

Aleppo as “part of alistofcities

thatwerecompletelydestroyedby

war.”

TheSyrian metropolis came to

symbolize the willingness of Rus-

sianand Syrianforcestouse ruth-

less tacticsagainstcivilians.

In 2016, during anearly six-

month siege of opposition-held

partsofAleppo, Syria’slargestcity

before the war,Russian forces at-

tackedfactories andwater sta-

tionsandcutoff supplylines,leav-

ing 250,000 residents with severe

shortages of food, medicinesand

fuel. Humanitarian catastrophe

followed.

In Mariupol, Russian forces

have surroundedand bombarded

the city, cutting offcommunica-

tions, water,gas and electricity,

and preventingaid convoys from

entering.Reportshaveemergedof

residentsmelting snowfor drink-

ing water,rationing food among

hungrychildrenand running out

of vitalmedicines.

Other Ukrainiancities, suchas

Chernihiv,facesimilarconditions.

SecretaryofState Antony Blinken

accused Russia last month of

“starving”Ukrainian cities.

Russiahas attackedmedical fa-

cilitiesinboth Aleppo and Mari-

upol, as wellasschoolsand build-

ings where civilianshad takenref-

uge—such as thetheater Ukraini-

an authoritiessay Russiabombed

in Mariupol —ina“completevio-

lation”ofthe international princi-

ple that“belligerentshaveanobli-

gationtodistinguishbetweenmil-

itary and civiliantargets,”Balson

said.

Syria alsoprovidedatesting

ground for weapons Russia is us-

ing in Ukraine.Russian defense

ministerSergei Shoigu said in Au-

gustthatRussia hadtested more

than 300 weaponsin Syria, Rus-

sianstate mediareported.

As in Syria, “a lotofthe civilian

casualtiesthatwe’redocumenting

[in Ukraine] are being caused by

dumb bombs —not targeted

weapons,” Balsonsaid.“It’s impos-

sibleto use suchweaponsin these

heavilybuilt-upareaswhileensur-

ing thatnocivilians losetheir

lives.”

In 2016, HumanRightsWatch

accusedRussiaandSyriaofkilling

morethan440 civilians, among

themmore than90 children, in a

month-longbombing campaign

inAleppo.

Civilianharm monitor Airwars

saidinareport publishedlast

weekthatnearly 25,000civilians

have allegedlybeenkilled by Rus-

sianstrikesinSyriasince 2015.

Russiaand Syria deliberately

bombedcivilian areas,including

medical facilities, and usedindis-

criminateweaponssuchascluster

munitions and incendiarybombs,

HRWfound. Russia’sallegeduse

of “vacuum”and cluster muni-

tions in Ukraine has drawnscruti-

ny in part becauseof the damage

the weapons wreaked in Syria.

Fiveyearsafter Russiabegan

bombing Syria, the UnitedNa-

tions’ Independent International

Commission of Inquiry on Syria

accusedRussiaofcommitting war

crimesthrough itsindiscriminate

attacksoncivilianareas.But no

Russian officials have faced trial.

Russiahas also beenaccused of

violating international lawin

Ukraine.Moscowhasdeniedcom-

mitting war crimesin Syria and

saidits forces are nottargeting

civilians in Ukraine.

Russian and Ukrainianofficials

saidtheyhad agreedto atempo-

rary cease-fire Thursday,toallow

aid in andevacuees out.

Habib said thatfixating global

attention on the establishment of

humanitariancorridors,andaway

fromefforts to end hostilitiesorto

establish safezones, playsinto

Moscow’s hands, in strategic

terms.

“Theywanttoempty thosecit-

ies of their population, so it willbe

less costly for Russia to takeover,”

Habib said of Russianauthorities.

Thewar in Syriahas forced

6.6 milliontoflee the country,

according to theUnitedNations,

withlargenumbersheadingto

Europe followingRussia’sinter-

ventioninSeptember 2015.More

than4millionpeoplefledUkraine

in justover amonthof fighting,

the UnitedNations said Wednes-

day. Three-quarters of Mariupol’s

populationhaveleftthe city, ac-

cording to someestimates.

Therefugee exodusis asignof

Russia“exportingthe problem,”

Habib said. As it didinSyria,

Russiawillseek to portray civil-

ianswho stay behindas enemy

combatants—and therefore legit-

imate targets, warned Hanna

Notte, seniorresearch associate at

the Vienna Center for Disarma-

mentand Non-Proliferation. An-

other element of Russia’s Syria

playbookon display in Ukraine:

disinformation. In Syria, Russia

andallies portrayed the White

Helmetsasterrorists. In Ukraine,

the Kremlinhas castUkrainian

officialsand soldiers as Nazis.

International lawand conflict

expertshaveraisedconcernsthat

the lack of accountability for Rus-

sianPresidentVladimirPutin’sac-

tions in Syria emboldened the

Russian leader.Balson pointedto

whathedescribedasabroader

pattern of Russianforceskilling

civilianswithimpunity,stretching

backtoits siege of Grozny, the

capital of Chechnya, in 1999.

“When the Russian govern-

ment has intervened,” he said,

“there has beenlong-standing,

well-documented incidencesand

patternsof human beingslosing

their lives, losingaccesstotheir

resources, losing accesstotheir

homes.”

In the lead-up to theUkraine

invasion, observers speculated

thatPutin mightbeless willingto

killUkrainiansbecause of thecul-

tural and familytiestheyshare

withRussians.

That hasn’tprovedtobethe

case.TheUnited Nations said

1,189civilianshadbeenkilledasof

WednesdayinUkraine,inwhat

officialssay is avastundercount.

Local officialsinMariupol esti-

mate that5,000 peoplehave been

killed in thatcityalone.

Still, Ukraineis better posi-

tioned to counterRussian attacks

thanSyrians were. Ukrainians

have takenrefugeinbunkers and

subwaysystemsbuilttowithstand

missiles and bombs. Andthey’ve

put up afierceand unified resis-

tance,defying Russian and West-

ern expectations. Unlike the Syria

conflict—which Russia foughtat

relatively low costbyattacking

fromthe skywhile Syrian forces

and alliedmilitiasattacked from

the ground—Russiahas sent tens

of thousands of groundtroops

into Ukraine,wheretheyare suf-

fering heavy losses.

But as Russian casualties

mountand ground offenses falter,

experts said, Putin maycontinue

topivottowardfightingthetypeof

airwar he waged in Syria. “He’s

started to resorttothe Syria low-

cost tactics,”said NatashaHall,

senior fellow in theMiddle East

Program at theCenterfor Stra-

tegicand International Studies.

ButUkraine has receivedgreat-

er international attention and

backing than did opposition

groups and civilians in Syria, she

said—and Russia has already

faced greater consequences.

Thesurprise of someWestern

observersaboutRussia’swilling-

ness to attackUkrainian cities has

frustrated manySyrians.

“WeasSyriansare reallysad-

dened to see the sameatrocities

thatwehavebeen sufferingfrom,

andwehavebeen callingfor the

world to stop, arenow repeated,”

Habib, of the WhiteHelmets, said.

“And we see thatasadirectresult

for the lack of accountabilityfor

whathappened previously in

Crimeaand in Syria.”

MiriamBergercontributedtothis

report.

Brutal tactics in Mariupol mirror ones Russia used in Syria, experts say

in astatement.“This conflictis

alreadycausingunimaginablehu-

mansuffering and destruction.

TheIAEA’s expertise and capabili-

ties are neededto prevent it from

alsoleadingtoanuclearaccident.”

But Ukrainian officials have

criticizedtheIAEAfornotdirectly

callingout Russia, whichtheysay

wouldbringmoreattention to the

risksatnuclearfacilitiesthat, if

shelled or otherwise damaged by

Russia, couldleadto adisaster

with regional and potentially

globalimplications.

“WhatItold themyesterday

was we needpoliticalsignals,po-

litical action fromyou,”Galush-

chenkosaid. “Technical assis-

tanceis fine, but whatdoes it

meanwhenour plantsare occu-

piedby Russian soldiers?When

Russia is usingour plants as

shieldsfromcounteroffensives?”

Therecent shootingdownof

twoRussiandronesoverVarash—

whichwasconfirmedby Vitaly

Koval, the regionalmilitary ad-

ministrator —has raisedques-

tionsaboutRussia’spossiblesur-

veillanceof plantsthatare far

fromthe frontline.

Thecityisonedge. Despite

beingaccompaniedby aminder

fromthe localgovernment, visit-

ing reporterswere questionedby

lawenforcement. Citizens were

apparentlyworriedthatthe jour-

nalists couldbe Russian sabo-

teurs.

It also is acityfilledwithme-

morials to pastdisasters. Amonu-

ment to the Chernobyl victims

stands prominently in the city

center. Notfar away is one to the

victimsof World WarII. Anda

memorialto thosekilledinthe

ongoing war is already being

planned.

“Itshouldbeapeaceful town,

but it smellsof fear,” the local

mindersaid.

100 MILES

Separatist-

controlled

area

CRIMEA

Rivne

Khmelnytskyi

SouthUkraine

Zaporizhzhia

Annexedby Russia

in 2014

Odessa Mariupol

RUSSIA

BELARUS

POLAND

Kyiv

Kharkiv

M

O

LD

O

VA

ROMANIA

Chernobyl

Black

Sea

Seaof

Azov

UKRAINE

Dnieper

Source:StateNuclearRegulatoryInspectorateofUkraine THEWASHINGTONPOST

Active nuclearpowerplantsinUkraine

PHOTOSBYMICHAELROBINSONCHAVEZ/THEWASHINGTONPOST

TOP: Thecooling towersofthe

Rivne nuclear power plant in

Varash,Ukraine, onMarch25.

ABOVE:People walkthrougha

marketareainVarash on

March25. Thetownwas built

to house the8,000-plus

workers at the plant, which was

constructed by the SovietUnion

in the 1970s. Cityofficials fear

theplant’s proximitytothe

borderwith Belaruscould make

it atarget for Russian attacks.

warin ukraine