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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on August 29 that a delegation with its best experts “is on its way” to the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, in an attempt to protect its security. The announcement was made despite the fact that in the Fighting has resumed in the vicinity of the plant in the last few hours, raising fears that the clashes could lead to a massive radiation leak, the worst case scenario.
After several months of attempts and when attacks in the area intensify, a UN mission will visit the Zaporizhia nuclear plant for the first time since the war in Ukraine began.
“The day has arrived. The Zaporizhia Support and Assistance Mission is already on its way. We must protect the security of the largest nuclear facility in Ukraine and Europe, ”announced the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, through his Twitter account.
The UN nuclear watchdog group, made up of 14 experts, including Grossi, is scheduled to arrive at the plant next week.
The power plant has been under Russian control since last March, days after the Kremlin ordered the invasion of the neighboring country, but it continues to be managed by Ukrainian experts, who have denounced pressure from foreign troops.
Fighting intensifies around Zaporizhia nuclear plant
The IAEA’s announcement came just as this Monday, August 29, the attacks resumed in the vicinity of the atomic plant, clashes of which Moscow and kyiv have accused each other.
In recent hours, Ukraine reported shelling in Nikopol, the city across the Dnieper River from where the nuclear facility can be seen. Local authorities said at least one person was killed and five others were injured.
In Enerhodar, also a few kilometers from the plant, Mayor Dmytro Orlov blamed Russian bombardment for leaving at least 10 residents injured.
“Apparently, (the Russians) have rehearsed their scenario before the arrival of the IAEA mission,” Orlov said.
In addition, this Monday the Russian Ministry of Defense indicated that its Army shot down a Ukrainian drone near the Zaporizhia nuclear station. According to the Vladimir Putin administration, no serious damage was done and radiation levels are “normal”.
The surroundings of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant were also targeted by assaults over the weekend, both in the Russian-controlled territory adjacent to the plant along the left bank of the Dnieper River, and along the Ukrainian-controlled far right, including the towns of Nikopol and Marhanets, each about 10 kilometers from the facility.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday that kyiv forces attacked the site twice in 24 hours. “One shell fell in the area of the sixth power unit, and the other five in front of the pumping station of the sixth unit, which provides cooling for this reactor,” Konashenkov said,
In recent days, both sides have accused each other of the constant bombing that puts at risk a “radioactive disaster”, as the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, described it.
Last Thursday, August 25, the facility, which has six reactors, was disconnected for the first time in its history, as a result of a barrage of bombings in the area. However, a day later Ukrainian experts working under the watch of the Russian military managed to restore the power supply.
The actions planned by the IAEA at the Zaporizhia plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency indicated that its delegation will evaluate “the physical damage to the facility, as well as the conditions of the personnel who work there, and will determine the functionality of the security and protection systems.”
It will also “carry out urgent safeguards activities,” a reference to tracking nuclear material.
The IAEA reported on Sunday that radiation levels are normal, adding that two of the plant’s six reactors were operational and that while a full assessment had not yet been carried out, recent clashes damaged a water pipe, although has been repaired.
But in a war now in its seventh month, news of a visit by experts from the UN nuclear watchdog could hardly break the general pessimism, from the conflict’s frontline villages to the international food supply and the economy. world.
Energoatom, Ukraine’s atomic energy agency, has painted a grim picture of the threat by issuing a map forecasting where radiation from the Zaporizhia plant could spread.
Ukrainian authorities have alleged that Russia is essentially holding the plant hostage, storing weapons there and launching attacks around it, while Moscow accuses kyiv of recklessly firing at the facility. Neither party’s claims have been independently verified.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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