War in Ukraine: The situation in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant area is alarming

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday warned of the risk of a “major nuclear accident” at the Zaporijjia power plant. Occupied by Russian forces in UkraineAmid evacuations from the nearby town where most of the staff live, and “dangerous” conditions surrounding the site.

Close up blasts

“The situation in the vicinity of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is becoming unpredictable and dangerous,” the agency’s head, Raffaele Grossi, was quoted as saying in an IAEA press release. The agency’s experts at the site continue to hear the sound of shelling in the area, dating back to Friday evening. “They are closely monitoring the situation to determine the potential impact on nuclear safety and security,” Grassi said.

“This huge reactor must be protected. “I will continue to press for the commitment of all parties to this important goal, and that the IAEA will do everything in its power to ensure nuclear safety and the safety of the plant,” he declared.

Big queues

On Friday, Moscow-appointed regional manager Evguéni Balitski announced a partial evacuation of 18 Russian-occupied territories in the Zaporijjia region, particularly in Energodar. But this raises concerns.

Melitopol’s mayor, Ivan Fedorov, condemned Saturday’s too-rapid “evacuation” on Telegram. Huge queues formed at the Csongar checkpoint on the road from Melitopol to Crimea, he said. Ditto at Dogmak, where queues to buy bread are long, while most gas stations run out of gas.

Mr. According to Politsky, these “temporary” evacuations are children who are primarily concerned with their parents, the elderly and the disabled, and hospital patients in the face of a spate of Ukrainian bombings in recent days. Another official of the occupation administration, Andrei Kozenko, was quoted by TASS as saying that Russian authorities plan to evacuate around 70,000 people from areas in the Zaporizhia region.

The tax has not yet been fixed

But there are currently no plans to evacuate staff at the six-reactor nuclear power plant, the site’s director, appointed by Russian authorities, Yuri Ternichuk, announced on Saturday.

Zaporijjia’s manpower has been gradually reduced since the start of the conflict, the IAEA press release describes, and Russian officials say that management of the site is ensured by an adequate number of personnel to ensure the safety of the site.

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, controlled by the Russian military since March 2022, is located on the banks of the Dnieper River, which separates the two camps in this area. In mid-April, Raffaello Croci had already warned that we were on “borrowed time” regarding the “security” of the plant.

Although the reactors are not operational, an emergency power line they depend on is still operational, creating “a major hazard,” according to the same source. The line was damaged on March 1 and had not yet been repaired as of mid-April, the IAEA said.

(AFP)Show comments