Transcript
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Hello. Today we're in Moscow for a Putin eye view on the ongoing disagreements over Greenland. In Uganda, we hear from young voters as the country's president is re elected for his 40th year in power. In France, women still undecided on motherhood are given extra time to think thanks to a national egg freezing program. And in Morocco, the final whistle has blown on this year's cup of Nations. But will the government rue the political cost of hosting hugely expensive football tournaments? But first to Ukraine, where Russian drone attacks are continuing to target the country's energy infrastructure. Thousands of homes in the capital, Kyiv, are without heating at a time of year when the temperature drops well below zero. Amid Russia's targeting of the energy grid, there's increasing concern for the security of Ukraine's nuclear power plants, on which the country is becoming increasingly reliant. The memory of the Chernobyl disaster is never far from people's minds these days, as Wera Davis has been finding out.
Wera Davis (2:12)
It'S difficult to overestimate or articulate just how cold it has been in Ukraine in recent days. They're used to cold winters here, but the biting eastern wind has been particularly sharp this year. Temperatures in Kyiv have regularly reached -20 degrees Celsius, and it requires multiple layers of clothing before you can venture outside for anything more than a few minutes. For many people, though, staying inside brings only some respite. Huge swathes of Ukraine, especially in the capital Kyiv, have been crippled by power cuts and blackouts. For days on end, thousands of homes are without electricity, running water or power. In the midst of war, the city authorities have set up invincibility centers, pop up emergency tents or railway carriages where people come for food and company, but mostly warmth. At one facility at a Kyiv railway station, I met 11 year old Stas and his mother. Stas says the sound of explosions around the city keeps him awake at night. He came here to meet friends because school is suspended and to charge his mobile phone. When I hear drones flying, it's really scary because you don't know if it will explode now or if it will fly on and you'll survive, says Stas. As we perch on the top bunk of the carriage, where he's sitting with another friend, Stas is frank about the impact of the war on his generation. I forget the times when there was no war. I don't remember those moments. Life is difficult, he says, his smile wide and demeanor remarkably bubbly. Ukraine's government accuses Russia of deliberately exploiting the sub zero temperatures to target energy production and distribution plants. After one recent heavy night of bombing here, 70% of the city was left without power for several hours. With almost every conventional power station in Ukraine hit or damaged by the Russian strikes, the burden has fallen on the country's small network of nuclear power stations to fill the void. By their very nature, nuclear plants are secure, secretive places. So I was fortunate to visit the Khmelnytsky nuclear complex in western Ukraine. Around two thirds of the country's electricity now comes from the plant's giant turbine halls and two other nuclear sites. They're all under the threat of attack, says Pavlo Kovtunyuk, head of the country's nuclear authority. It was, he said, nuclear terrorism, because the infrastructure Russia is targeting is exactly what keeps nuclear plants safe. This complex is especially important because the country's largest nuclear power plant, near Zaporizhzhia, on the banks of the Dnipro river in southern Ukraine, has been occupied and controlled by Russia since the early days of the war almost four years ago. Although it's now in shutdown mode, some Ukrainian workers who are still there under Russian occupation have told us over encrypted social media channels that it's now full of Russian military hardware, and there have been missile launches from within the complex. I spoke to Daria, who was a technician at Zaporizhzhia, and her husband, Yor, a, an engineer the plant. She recalls being very frightened when the Russians occupied the site, but they remained hoping that things would change. It was when some colleagues were taken to the basement underneath the plant for interrogation, says Yur, that they decided it was time to leave, especially when they realized that some of those taken were not seen again. The journey out to safety through neighboring countries was arduous and, as Daria recalled, only happened after Russian intelligence officers found thoroughly examined their phones. Now living hundreds of miles away in a small house near the Khmelnytsky plant, where they now both work, the couple say they'd like one day to return to Zaporizhzhia. It is, after all, their home. But Yurgor was the third person I'd spoken to during this trip who expressed concerns about reported Russian neglect and lack of maintenance at the complex. Ukraine says, for example, that ponds supplying water to prevent Zaporizhzhia's reactors overheating have been allowed to run dead dangerously low. International inspectors do sometimes cross into Russian occupied territory to check the site, but some fear what could happen there. No one wants history to repeat itself. In my view, it could be much worse than Chernobyl, says the nuclear head Pavlo Kovtunyuk. If Russia brings the situation to a point where the core melts and there's melting of fuel in the spent fuel pools, the contamination could be even greater than Chernobyl. The head of Russia's nuclear agency, Rosatom, recently said that it was the only operator allowed to run the plant under Russian law, and it was ensuring its safe operation under the most difficult combat conditions. Another Chernobyl disaster is a sobering thought, and the immediate challenge for thousands here is keeping warm in this bitter winter. But the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and who controls it should concern everyone and could have repercussions far beyond these borders.