Chair: Dr Amanda Chisholm, Senior Lecturer in Security Studies and Researcher in Gender and Security at King's College London

Speaker: Dr Ross Peel, Research and Knowledge Transfer Manager in the Department of War Studies and the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS)at King's College London

Discussant: Professor Tracey German, Professor in Conflict and Security in the Defence Studies Department at King's College London

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shook the global order. In particular, its capture and occupation of civilian nuclear facilities at Chornobyl and Zaporizhzhia created fears of a new nuclear power plant disaster.

Whilst Russian forces retreated from Chornobyl after less than one month, they have remained at the Zaporizhzhia plant since March, creating an unprecedented situation where Ukrainian staff are operating the plant under the control of Russian military forces. The plant is suffering regular bombardment, with both sides blaming the other, and access to offsite power, critical for maintaining safety functions, has been repeatedly cut off. 

This seminar will explore events at the plant since March 2022 and attempt to elucidate the reasons behind them. Also explored will be the use of disinformation around the attacks on the plant, and the role the international community might play in bringing this dangerous situation to an end.

Register in advance for this online seminar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

About the speaker 

Dr. Ross Peel is a Research and Knowledge Transfer Manager in the Department of War Studies and the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS). In this role, he leads research activities on nuclear security and safeguards, and examines the role of nuclear power plants in war and as tools of international diplomacy. Ross also manages a variety of other activities within CSSS, covering topics on non-proliferation, strategic trade controls and open-source intelligence.

From 2017 to 2019, Ross was a Nuclear Systems Consulting Engineer with Nuclear-21 Ltd, an international consultancy company specialising in providing critical decision support to nuclear science and technology stakeholders.

Ross gained his PhD from the University of Sheffield through the Nuclear FiRST Centre for Doctoral Training in September 2017. He holds an M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering with French from the University of Sheffield, which included a year studying abroad at INSA Lyon in France.