image source,Getty Images
The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant can provide enough energy for 4 million households.
As the war in Ukraine continues, a focus of great concern around the world is the safety of Zaporozhye, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling nuclear power plants, raising fears of another Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster.
While Ukrainian workers continue to keep the plant afloat, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it was “unsustainable”. The agency has put in place support and oversight mechanisms on the ground.
The IAEA wants to create a demilitarised security zone around nuclear power plants. But what does this mean and how likely is it to happen?
What is the Demilitarized Zone?
The ICRC defines it as an area agreed upon by the parties to an armed conflict that neither party to the conflict may occupy or use for military purposes.
image source,Getty Images
Grossi, director general of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has warned that the risk of a nuclear catastrophe is very high.
The ICRC lists four necessary conditions for the establishment of a demilitarized zone:
- All combat personnel, as well as mobile weapons and mobile military equipment, have been evacuated;
- Fixed military equipment and installations shall not be used for hostile purposes;
- Neither the authorities nor the population shall take any hostile actions;
- All activities related to military actions have ceased.
According to the IAEA’s plan, neither side of the war can deploy troops inside the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would support the proposal. Ukraine’s nuclear chief has suggested that UN peacekeepers can maintain the safety of nuclear power plants.
But Russia insists there are issues that need further explanation before they agree to the plan.
The demilitarized zone has helped stabilize some other parts of the world in the past.
Korean Peninsula
The Korean peninsula reached an armistice agreement on July 27, 1953 after more than three years of fighting, but the Korean War never signed a final peace agreement. But the armistice did pave the way for a later non-military buffer zone along the 38th parallel. It is about 250 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide.
image source,Getty Images
North Korea Demilitarized Zone
According to the agreement, the use of heavy weapons such as tanks and artillery in the area is prohibited. Soldiers can stay there, but only for observation purposes and not on a large scale.
Even at the height of tensions, both sides have largely respected the sanctity of the demilitarized zone. But around 1 million soldiers are believed to be stationed nearby, making it one of the most heavily guarded fronts in the world.
As the demilitarized zone has not been built or cultivated for nearly 70 years, an unexpected result is that many animals and birds that were once threatened or endangered are now living in the narrow strip between the two Koreas. thriving on the land.
Antarctica
In 1959, 12 countries, including the United States, the former Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Australia, agreed to keep the entire Antarctica free of any military use.
image source,Getty Images
Demilitarization helps native species thrive in Antarctica.
That means no country can build a military base there, conduct training, dispose of nuclear waste or test weapons systems. It does, however, allow countries to conduct scientific experiments.
More countries later signed the treaty, and a separate protocol was introduced in 1991, banning the extraction of any oil or other resources.
In stark contrast, both Russia and the United States allow oil exploration and military exercises in the Arctic.
Sinai Peninsula
During the Third Middle East War in 1967 (called the Six Day War on the Israeli side and the Six Day War on the Arab side), Israel seized the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt.
image source,Getty Images
Israel and Egypt agree to demilitarize the Sinai Peninsula after signing the Camp David agreement in 1978
After tough negotiations at Camp David in 1978, Israel agreed to withdraw from the area.
The agreement, brokered by the Americans, severely restricted the deployment of military installations by Egypt and Israel near the border.
It has also led to the permanent deployment of an international force, the multinational force and observers, to monitor the implementation of the peace agreement.
But the growing threat from Islamist militants in recent decades has also led Egypt and Israel to agree to deploy larger forces.
Can the demilitarized zone apply to Ukraine?
image source,Getty Images
Zaporozhye nuclear power plant
Would a similar demilitarized zone at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant work to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities?
First, it needs to meet a number of conditions, said Dr Peel, a nuclear safety expert at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.
He said the first step, as the IAEA has pointed out, is to return full security control of the nuclear power plant to Ukrainian personnel and to withdraw Russian military vehicles from safety and security-critical areas.
In addition, Russian nuclear experts and military personnel need to hand over operational control of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to the Ukrainians, because the current situation poses a threat to the original security and security incident management chain of command.
The off-site power supply, which is critical to nuclear plant safety systems, is also in dire need of repair and reconnection. Supply chains for the necessary equipment and materials for nuclear power plants also need to be re-established. At the same time, reliable communication systems with Ukraine and key international institutions also need to be restored.
But Dr Peel told the BBC that was unlikely to happen anytime soon, given Moscow’s current position.
“While Russia’s representative to the UN Security Council thanked the UN for the report,” Dr Peel said, “he stressed that the only threat to the nuclear power plant came from Ukrainian shelling, and that Russian forces were protecting the facility.”
Dr Peel believes that the Russians will not give up this position easily, at least not without long-term negotiations.
Dr Peel said, “For Russia to demilitarize nuclear power plants will mean that what they say is the threat to Ukraine has either been eliminated or is no longer dangerous. But it will discredit them in a way and undermine their legacy. Reason for being there.”
The BBC’s Kyiv correspondent, Hugo Bachega, agreed.
“Russia has repeatedly refused to withdraw its troops from the nuclear plant, claiming that they are protecting it. The Ukrainians say this is their territory and that the nuclear plant was safe before the Russian invasion,” Bakiga said.
“At the moment, it’s hard to see it happen without hard negotiations. How exactly? Who’s going to enforce it?”