Published in 2023 by The Henry Jackson Society

The conflict, from the very outset, has been fought under the long shadow of nuclear weapons, the escalation of which could lead to the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, with devastating implications for the national security of Ukraine, the neighbouring countries, the UK and the European members of NATO. [...] Loss of coolant water could eventually result in the overheating and melting of the spent fuel inside the reactors; the generation and accumulation of hydrogen gas; hydrogen explosions; and disruption of the containment structure. [...] According to the IAEA, the damage to the physical integrity of the installation contravenes the IAEA’s first pillar of the seven pillars of nuclear safety and security in relation to the armed conflict in Ukraine.72 A later attack on the installation, in June 2022, damaged, inter alia, the main building, the cooling system, and the diesel generator building. [...] The UK, in conjunction with France and the US (the permanent members of the UNSC) and other NATO countries, should utilise the diplomatic and political conduits available to them to de- escalate the dangerous nuclear rhetoric, the spectre of which has been looming over Europe since the very outset of the armed conflict in Ukraine. [...] In view of the recent developments in the Russia–Ukraine war, and the transnational challenges posed to the national security of the UK, a reassessment of the UK’s security policy strategies, as articulated in the ‘2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy’85 and also the ‘Integrated Review Refresh, 2023’, may be warranted.