Ukraine Drone Strike on Nuclear Power Plant
Ukraine Drone Strike on Nuclear Power Plant
Subscribe
On Tuesday, April 7, a Ukrainian drone damaged part of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant located in south-western Russia. AfroVerdict host joins three political experts to analyse the dangers of the incident and reasons for the West failing to hold Ukraine accountable for its actions.
While commenting on the incident, US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller surprisingly urged Russia to refrain from any action that could lead to a nuclear threat, instead of condemning Ukraine for its reckless military activity.
"They are not condemning Ukraine because they are sponsoring Ukraine," Dr. Chidochashe Nyere, Research Fellow at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation, believes.
Dr. Nyere compares this move by the US to the "Moammar Gadhafi saga in 2011", as the US is waiting for a reaction to "respond and react to, then they clobber you".
"Ukraine has the full support of the USA, the UK, and France, particularly. Those three, they always operate as a unit. And so, I argue they are behind this. Ukraine knows exactly what it is doing, and it is following instructions from its master, the West," he explains.
Others are expecting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to condemn Ukraine's drone strike on the nuclear facility. The IAEA must demonstrate "political will", according to Dr. Anne Abaho, International Relations and Security Studies Lecturer at Nkumba University.
"If you remember the IAEA had said [to] avoid the military equipment near the plant, don't even deploy there, don't fire close. So it's a clear abuse on the Ukrainian side, that they did not actually take charge, [or] take into consideration the recommendations from the IAEA," Dr. Abaho says.
Apart from international organizations, countries and the international community is also expected to voice its opinion and even "consider taking sanctions", according to Dr. Oscar van Heerden, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for African Diplomacy and Leadership at the University of Johannesburg.
"As for the international community, especially South Africa, who voluntarily gave up their nuclear weapons, they have a moral authority to call on Ukraine to refrain from doing such actions, but also, I think the in the international community, particularly the Global South, should begin to consider taking sanctions and action against Ukraine to bring an end to this conflict," Dr. van Heerden states.
To hear what else the experts had to say, check out the entire episode of the AfroVerdict podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
In addition to the website, you can also catch our episodes on Telegram.
► You can also listen to our podcast on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Pocket Casts, Deezer, Podcast Addict and Afripods.
► Check out all the episodes of AfroVerdict.
