The University of Aberdeen will welcome internationally renowned historian Serhii Plokhii, Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University, for a public lecture examining the dangers posed to nuclear facilities during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Professor Plokhii will deliver Chernobyl Roulette: The Russo-Ukrainian War and the Nuclear Threats in the Craig Suite of the Sor Duncan Rice Library at 6pm on Wednesday July 1.
On the opening day of Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine (24 February 2022), Russian forces seized control of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. For thirty-five days, Ukrainian staff worked under occupation, many held hostage while maintaining the plant under extraordinary pressure. Their determination helped prevent another potential nuclear catastrophe.
Attention soon turned to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, which came under attack in March 2022 and remains under Russian control. In this lecture, Professor Plokhii explores the global implications of military occupation of nuclear infrastructure and the profound challenges these events present for international security.
A leading authority on the history of Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe, Professor Plokhii has written extensively on World War II, the Cold War, and the history of nuclear power. His acclaimed book Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy received the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction and inspired the award-winning 2019 HBO/Sky television series Chernobyl. His latest publication, The Nuclear Age: An Epic Race for Arms, Power and Survival, was released in 2025.
Professor Plokhii will also be awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Aberdeen on 29 June 2026 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to historical scholarship.
Book your place here.