№ 34, 2024. PIR Center held a Midweek Brainstorming Session on the topic “Civil Nuclear Facilities during Armed Conflicts: Security Issues and Prevention of Terrorist Attacks”

MOSCOW. AUGUST 30, 2024. PIR PRESS. PIR Center held a Midweek Brainstorming Session on the topic “Civil Nuclear Facilities during Armed Conflicts: Security Issues and Prevention of Terrorist Attacks.” During the session, Sviatoslav Arov, a Research Fellow at PIR Center, presented his report on the burning issue of nuclear security during armed conflicts.

Attention to the security of civil nuclear facilities has increased significantly since the start of the Special Military Operation. News of attacks on the Zaporozhye NPP has been and remains in the spotlight of the international community, which is not surprising: a potential accident involving nuclear material could lead to a total disaster. However, attacks on nuclear facilities are not a new phenomenon. There have been similar precedents in history. The report analyzes how international law regulates attacks on civil nuclear facilities and how well they are protected from armed attacks. The report mainly focuses on the situation around Zaporozhye NPP. However, it includes other cases, while the author comprehensively analyzed the nuclear security issues. The report aims to elaborate practical recommendations for protecting civil nuclear facilities from deliberate attacks.

During the session, expert comments and remarks on the report were made by Mr. Oleg Mikhailov, Counselor of the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN in New York; Dr. Mikhail Lysenko, Deputy Head of the International Law Department, MGIMO University, member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Dr. Vladimir Baranovsky, Head of Research, Situation Analysis Center, IMEMO RAS, member of PIR Center Advisory Board; Mr. Igor Efremov, 3rd category engineer, “ITC DZHET”; Dr. Konstantin Lazunin, an independent expert in information security; Mr. Igor Vishnevetsky and Dr. Alexey Ubeev, independent experts; and Dr. Vladimir Orlov, Founding Director of PIR Center, Professor at MGIMO University, who acted as an academic advisor during the preparation of the report.

The report’s reviewers were Mr. Igor Vishnevetsky, former Deputy Director of the Arms Control and Nonproliferation Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry and now independent expert; Dr. Mikhail Lysenko, Deputy Head of the International Law Department, MGIMO University, member of PIR Center Advisory Board; and Dr. Vladimir Orlov, Founding Director of PIR Center and professor at MGIMO University.

Read the report (in Russian).

A recording of the session is available via the link (in Russian).

Key words: Nuclear Nonproliferation; Terrorism; Civil Nuclear Facilities; Zaporozhye NPP

NPT

F4/SOR – 24/08/30