What happens when a hostile power occupies the site of a nuclear catastrophe? Ukrainian-born historian Serhii Plokhy returns to Chernobyl to tell a frightening and profoundly important story.

On 24th February 2022, armoured vehicles approached the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. This was the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine which would last thirty-five days. It was only the resilience and courage of the Ukrainian workers held hostage at gunpoint, their shifts lasting weeks instead of days, which prevented another nuclear catastrophe reminiscent of the disaster three decades earlier.

Now, acclaimed historian Serhii Plokhy returns to How To Academy to share the story of the men and women who were trapped inside Chernobyl during the occupation: from the Russian officers who knew nothing about nuclear reactors, to the plant’s operating staff who had to make life-or-death decisions while terrifyingly aware that no help was coming from the outside world.

As Plokhy will reveal, the Russian occupation of the Chernobyl and Zaporizhia nuclear power plants show just how unprepared we are to deal with acts of nuclear terrorism perpetrated by a major nuclear power. Exploring the personal and human consequences of such hostile takeovers of nuclear sites, this conversation brings together two stories of enormous importance in the world today – the Russo-Ukrainian war and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Tickets to this livestream event are free for members of How To +.