The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine was shelled on Sunday, which drew criticism from the U.N. nuclear inspector who claimed that such strikes increased the chance of a catastrophic nuclear accident.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that more than a dozen explosions occurred on Saturday evening and Sunday at Europe’s largest nuclear power facility. Both Moscow and Kyiv accused the other of being responsible for the facility’s shelling.
The IAEA’s Rafael Grossi said, “The news from our team yesterday and this morning is highly troubling.” His team on the ground reported that some of the plant’s structures, systems, and equipment had been harmed.
This huge nuclear power plant’s site had explosions, which is totally undesirable. Whoever is responsible for this must cease right away. You’re playing with fire, as I’ve mentioned many times before!
Repeated shelling of the plant in southern Ukraine, which Russia seized shortly after its February invasion, has sparked worries about the possibility of a serious accident so close to the location of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster, the worst nuclear accident in history, which is only 500 kilometers (300 miles) away.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant supplied about a fifth of the country’s electricity; however, it has frequently been required to run on backup generators. It has six water-cooled, water-moderated VVER-1000 V-320 reactors with uranium 235 that were built by the Soviet Union.
Although the reactors are off, there remains a chance that the nuclear fuel could overheat if the power to the cooling systems is interrupted. Shelling frequently destroys electricity wires.
In the course of the conflict, Kyiv and Moscow have both accused the other of attacking the plant and posing a threat of a nuclear accident. On Sunday, they again traded accusations.
BLAME GAME
Russia’s defense ministry claimed that Ukraine shelled power lines feeding the plant, and TASS, citing a representative of Russian nuclear power operator Rosenergoatom, claimed that some of the site’s storage facilities had been hit by Ukrainian shelling.
The CEO of Rosenergoatom’s advisor Renat Karchaa stated, “They fired not only yesterday, but also today, and they are shelling right now,” adding that any artillery attack at the plant constituted a threat to nuclear security.
According to TASS, Karchaa stated that although the shells were fired close to a facility for storing dry nuclear waste and structure housing recently used nuclear fuel, no radioactive emissions have yet been noticed.
Energoatom, a Ukrainian nuclear energy company, claimed there had been at least 12 hits on plant infrastructure and accused the Russian military of shelling the area.
It claimed that Russia had targeted the infrastructure required to restart specific plant components in an effort to further restrict Ukraine’s access to power.
