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     The war in Ukraine has reawakened fears of a global nuclear catastrophe. Nuclear weapons may not be used in an intentional attack but there is great possibility of mistakes and miscalculations in this war. The world cannot afford to ignore the nuclear threat posed by this war.
     The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeast Ukraine is the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe. It has been in the headlines since the Russia army seized it last March. There is such great international concern about the plant that the Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the U.N. has repeatedly called for military withdrawals from the plant. He warned that if any harm came to the plant, it would be ‘suicide’. The alarm that been expressed worldwide has persuaded Russia to agree to allow U.N. officials to visit the plant and conduct an inspection.
     An accidental nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia might not resemble the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 in northern Ukraine. However, it will certainly be no less catastrophic than the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan in 2011.
     Currently, nuclear fission power supplies about ten percent of the world’s electricity. There are four hundred and forty-one operating nuclear power reactors in thirty six countries. These plants together can generate about three hundred and sixty-nine gigawatts of electricity per year. There are about fifty new nuclear reactors being constructed around the globe. There are claims that nuclear power plants are the safest and most secure sources of energy in the world. However, when accidents do occur, they can be devastating. The U.S. suffered the partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island reactor in 1979.
     Nuclear power plants are designed to be safe from any malfunction or accident. However, they are not immune to being intentionally or inadvertently targeted during a war or other type of civil strife. The global security architecture is currently changing with a very high degree of uncertainty. It would be utterly irresponsible to ignore the threats to hundreds of nuclear power plants in a global political environment that is becoming more insecure and hostile by the day.
     In addition to other serious concerns about nuclear power plants vulnerability, cyber threats to these nuclear facilities are becoming more sophisticated while the technological capacity to provide security is limited. As the global footprint of nuclear fission power is expanding, the threat of cyberattacks is also growing. The international community is far from formalizing regulatory standards, common principles and operational guidelines to protect nuclear power plants from the fast-evolving cyber risks.
     As mentioned above, the number of nuclear power plants around the globe is increasing. The nuclear arsenals around the world will also be increasing in the coming years. This is the first increase since the end of the Cold War in 1991. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) warned about this in June of this year. This increase is mainly caused by heightened global tensions triggered by the war in Ukraine.
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