The nuclear power plant in Ukraine is seriously damaged
As a result of Friday’s shelling, “serious” some objects of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in the south-east of Ukraine. This was stated on Saturday by the operator of this power plant, the Ukrainian state enterprise Enerhoatom.
Risk of radioactivity leakage
Moscow and Kyiv blamed each other for the shelling of this nuclear power plant in Europe, which caused the shutdown of one of the reactors. In this context, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of nuclear terrorism. The European Union also blamed Russia for the shelling of power plants.
According to Enerhoatom’s statement on Saturday, from which the AFP agency quotes, there was “serious” stations with nitrogen and oxygen tanks and another auxiliary object.
The electric current cable was also damaged, as a result of which one of the reactors stopped working. “There is also a risk that there will be a leak of hydrogen and radioactive substances, and there is also a high risk of fire,” warned Enerhoatom on the Telegram social network.
According to him, the shelling caused “a serious threat to the safe operation of power plants”. Zaporizhia the nuclear power plant has been occupied by Russian invasion forces since March and Kiev claims that heavy military equipment was concentrated in its area.
The situation is unstable
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been trying for weeks to allow a team of its inspectors to visit the Zaporizhia Power Plant. However, the Ukrainian side has so far rejected such a step due to concerns that it would legitimize the Russian occupation of power plants in the eyes of the international community. It is not clear how the Kremlin reacts to this request.
Even before Friday’s shelling, the IAEA described the situation at the Zaporozhská elektrár as “unstable” a “out of control” with the fact that many safety regulations are being violated in the campus.
According to the IAEA, employees of the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom left the power plants shortly before Friday’s attacks. However, Ukrainian workers remained there and the plant, which has six reactors with a total output of roughly 6,000 MW, is still providing electricity.
If shelling hit an operating reactor, it could have consequences similar to the use of an atomic bomb, Ukraine’s foreign ministry warned.