Adi Roche of the Chernobyl Children International (CCI) charity is calling for diplomatic measures to be urgently taken in the hopes of brokering peace as the intensifying nuclear threat is putting the world on the precipice of a ‘humanitarian Armageddon’.

Roche’s call for peace comes as the situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, becomes increasingly volatile and unpredictable, as it is remains an active combat zone. On 07 May, Russian backed leaders in Ukraine made the call to evacuate Zaporizhzhia region, due to concerns about the increased threat in anticipation of Ukraine’s expected counter-attacks in the highly contested front line region.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which was the second to be occupied after Chernobyl, has reported further explosions at nuclear facility in recent days, with ammunition being found within the reactors, and the UN Nuclear Watchdog has exclaimed that ‘time is running out’.

“We are rolling a dice. If we allow this to continue, our luck will run out. We are sleepwalking humanity into a wider war and potential humanitarian Armageddon with our eyes wide open. With this weaponising of Nuclear Power Plant, we cannot stress enough the risk that Chernobyl and now Zaporizhzhia poses. If we remain silent…we are playing with a loaded gun.” Roche stated.

“Nuclear nightmares have no end. We need to act on peace now, before it’s too late. Any use of nuclear weapons, or targeting of power plants, needs to be stopped immediately. As we learned from Hiroshima, Nagaskai and Chernobyl when we have no regard for consequences, can only lead to one, devastating outcome. ”, Roche continued.

Since the beginning of the war and the invasion of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in February 2022, CCI have been advocating for all nuclear facilities be deemed a ‘No War Zone’ and for World Leaders to invoke the Hague Convention which defines any attack on a nuclear facility to be a ‘war crime’.