UN atomic watchdog says situation at Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear plant ‘extremely serious’

Kyiv, Ukraine — An explosion caused by a suspected drone attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Tuesday does not pose a direct threat to its security, but highlights the “extremely serious situation” at the facility which has been repeatedly raided in the crossfire of war, the UN said. the monitoring agency said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said its team was aware of an explosion at a training center next to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. He said he had been informed that the explosion came from a drone attack, but gave no further details.

The agency’s information likely came from Russians who have occupied and managed the factory since the start of the war.

The Zaporizhzhia facility is one of the 10 largest nuclear power plants in the world. Fighting in southern Ukraine, where it is located, has raised the specter of a potential nuclear disaster like that of Chernobyl in 1986, when a reactor exploded and released deadly radiation over a wide area.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine has been able to make significant progress in recent months along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line running through eastern and southern Ukraine. Drones, artillery and missiles played an important role in what became a war of attrition.

Russia and Ukraine have frequently exchanged accusations over the Zaporizhzhia power plant. On Monday, Moscow claimed that Ukraine was behind drone attacks on the facility the day before, and kyiv accused Russia of disinformation tactics.

The IAEA reported Sunday that its inspectors confirmed “the physical impact of drone detonations” and observed that “Russian troops engaged what appeared to be an approaching drone.”

Energoatom, the operator of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant, slammed the latest Russian allegations in a statement on Tuesday. He accuses Moscow of publishing propaganda and “false statements” to manipulate public opinion against Ukraine.

Energoatom noted that Russia had deployed troops and land mines at the site, which is one of Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants. The other three remain in Ukrainian hands.

“The dangerous game of the (Russian) occupiers of the nuclear facility (in Zaporizhzhia) must stop,” he said.

The most recent strikes did not compromise the facility, which is designed to withstand the crash of a commercial airliner, the IAEA said. But the watchdog has repeatedly expressed concern about the plant, amid fears of a nuclear disaster.

The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but it still needs power and trained personnel to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.

Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Kyiv-based Energy Industry Research Center, said it made no sense for Ukrainian forces to hit the Zaporizhzhia power plant because the country will need the energy it produces.

Russian forces recently renewed efforts to pound Ukraine’s power grid, using improved intelligence and tactics, according to Ukraine.

“The main point for the Ukrainian side at the moment, especially in the situation we are in now, is to save the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, because for our energy systems this plant is a game changer,” Kharchenko said .

According to Ukrainian emergency services, a nuclear disaster would require the evacuation of around 300,000 people.

Also on Tuesday, Ukrainian intelligence claimed to have struck an aviation training center in southwest Russia with a drone and said the fire aboard a Russian navy corvette on the Baltic coast was “not accidental”.

The claims could not be independently verified or corroborated. Russia has not made any comments on them.

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