Takeaways from AP story on Ukrainian schools built underground to guard against bombs and radiation

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine -- Most of nan Russian weapons that deed nan Ukrainian metropolis of Zaporizhzhia termination successful an instant: nan drones, nan ballistic missiles, nan glide bombs, nan artillery shells. But Russian soldiers power different limb they person ne'er deployed, with nan potential to beryllium conscionable arsenic deadly: The adjacent Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness plant.

The NPP, arsenic it’s known, erstwhile produced much energy than immoderate different atomic powerfulness works successful Europe. It fell to Russian forces successful nan first weeks of nan full-scale invasion, and Russia has held its six reactors ever since. The works has travel nether repeated attacks that some sides blame connected nan other.

These copy dangers – bombs and radiation – protector families successful Zaporizhzhia. An Associated Press squad spent astir a week successful nan metropolis to study astir its building binge for its future: an underground schoolhouse system.

Here's what AP found:

About 50 kilometers (31 miles) away, nan Zaporizhzhia atomic works has been successful in acold shutdown for 2 years aft aggravated negotiations betwixt nan International Atomic Energy Agency and nan Russian government. The IAEA has rotated a handful of staff connected tract ever since.

There are risks moreover successful acold shutdown, erstwhile nan reactor is operating but not generating power. The main threat is that its outer electrical supply, which comes from Ukrainian-controlled territory nether changeless Russian bombardment, will beryllium trim disconnected for a longer play than generators tin handle.

The atomic works needs energy to support important backups functioning, including h2o pumps that forestall meltdowns, radiation monitors and different basal information systems. Russia has many times struck astatine Ukraine’s grid, attacks that person intensified this year. Highlighting nan changeless danger, energy to nan NPP was trim yet again for 3 days arsenic emergency workers struggled to put retired nan fire.

The Zaporizhzhia works has a safer, much modern creation than Chornobyl, known successful Russian arsenic Chernobyl, and there’s not nan aforesaid threat of a large-scale meltdown, experts say. But that doesn’t trim nan consequence to zero.

Most of nan youngest residents of nan metropolis person ne'er seen nan wrong of a classroom. Schools that had suspended in-person classes during nan COVID-19 pandemic astir 4 years agone continued online classes aft nan warfare started successful February 2022.

Construction has begun connected a twelve subterranean schools designed to beryllium radiation- and bomb-proof and tin of educating 12,000 students.

The costs to build a subterranean schoolhouse strategy is tremendous — nan fund for nan underground type of Gymnasium No. 71 unsocial stands astatine much than 112 cardinal hryvnias ($2.7 million). International donors are covering astir of it, and nan nationalist and section governments person made it a privilege connected par pinch backing nan army.

But astir parents opportunity bombs, which onslaught nan metropolis daily, are a acold much tangible fearfulness than radiation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accuses Russia of targeting atomic plants deliberately. Russian forces seized power of nan Chornobyl area successful nan first days of nan invasion, only to beryllium driven backmost by Ukrainian forces.

Since nan commencement of nan war, Russia has many times alluded to its atomic weapons stockpile without leveling nonstop threats. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would see immoderate onslaught by a state supported by a nuclear-armed federation to beryllium a associated onslaught and stressed that Russia could respond pinch atomic weapons to immoderate onslaught that posed a “critical threat to our sovereignty.”

Ukrainian officials fearfulness that nan Russian attacks connected Chornobyl and nan Zaporizhzhia atomic plants whitethorn beryllium conscionable a start. During his reside successful precocious September to nan U.N. General Assembly, Zelenskyy warned that Russia was preparing strikes connected much atomic plants, which make a ample information of Ukraine’s electricity.

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The Associated Press receives support for atomic information sum from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for each content.

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Additional AP sum of nan atomic landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/