There is a noticeably solemn look on his face as he explains the contingencies. “Potassium iodide pills and cartridge masks are being distributed throughout the local municipalities,” Tkachenko tells me, holding up one of the pills alongside a collection of glossy pamphlets that outline civilian emergency procedures. One pamphlet contains a list of foods that help to reduce the consequences of radiation exposure. Another contains a tear-out identification card for children to list their parents and home address, a last resort in the event of separation.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is the largest in Europe. Located in Enerhodar, the facility sits just 50 kilometres southwest of the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is normally home to over 700,000 Ukrainians. Since Russia’s violent seizure of the plant last March, though, local residents and government agencies alike have been forced to contend with the looming spectre of nuclear catastrophe.