CURRENT AFFAIRS UPSC

 There are renewed concerns over the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest in Europe, which was seized by Russian troops early in the war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday (July 5) said the Russians have placed what appear to be explosives on the roofs of several power units at the plant, The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, said on Wednesday that it had so far not seen any indications of mines or explosives, but “with military tension and activities increasing in the region…our experts must be able to verify the facts on the ground ”. Where is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant? Zaporizhzhia is the administrative centre of the Ukrainian oblast of the same name, located to the southeast of the country on the banks of the Dnipro river as it winds its way to the Black Sea. The plant in Zaporizhzhia, one of four nuclear power stations in Ukraine , was built through the 1980s by the erstwhile Soviet Union. The plan...

  The United States has decided to send cluster munitions to Ukraine to help its military push back Russian forces entrenched along the front lines. The move will likely trigger outrage from some allies and humanitarian groups that have long opposed the use of cluster bombs . Proponents argue that Russia has already been using the controversial weapon in Ukraine and that the munitions the US will provide have a reduced dud rate , meaning there will be far fewer unexploded rounds that can result in unintended civilian deaths. WHAT IS A CLUSTER MUNITION? A cluster munition is a bomb that opens in the air and releases smaller “bomblets” across a wide area. The bomblets are designed to take out tanks and equipment, as well as troops, hitting multiple targets at the same time . . The US last used its cluster munitions in battle in Iraq in 2003 , and decided not to continue using them as the conflict shifted to more urban environments with more dense civilian populations. WHY PROVIDE ...