The International Atomic Energy Agency has been alarmed by the shelling of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia during fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi on Saturday warned of the risk of a nuclear disaster that could threaten public health and the environment in Ukraine and beyond. outer
He was “extremely concerned” about Friday’s events. “Any military firepower aimed at or emanating from the facility would be playing with fire, with potentially catastrophic consequences,” Grossi said. A threat to the security of Zaporizhia must be avoided “at all costs”. Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was occupied by the Russian army in March, but is still operated by the Ukrainian state-owned company Energoatom and its workforce.
Ukraine and the US accuse Russia of using the nuclear power plant as a protective shield. Russia rejects this. On Friday, Energoatom shut down one of the six reactors after an artillery shell damaged a high-voltage power line that is vital to the operation. Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for the shelling and accused each other of risking a nuclear disaster. According to information from Energoatom, no radioactivity escaped. Energoatom and the IAEA, which reports to the United Nations (UN), have repeatedly complained that the operational safety of Zaporizhia has been impaired by military action. The IAEA’s access to remote monitoring systems had been interrupted several times. In 1986, in the days of the Soviet Union, the most serious catastrophe to date occurred at a nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine.