A Russian soldier guards the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station
IAEA Chief Warns That Risk of
Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Accident Is Rising
DPA International
(April 11, 2024) — The already dangerous situation at the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya is getting worse, the UN’s nuclear watchdog said on Thursday.
The drone attacks on the plant were “significantly increasing the risk of a nuclear accident,” said Rafael Grossi, the head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
At a special meeting of the IAEA board of governors, he urged military decision-makers and the international community to focus on de-escalating the hostilities around Europe’s biggest nuclear plant.
Representatives of Moscow and Kiev, who were in attendance at the meeting, once again blamed each other for the attacks. Grossi, however, avoided apportioning blame.
On Sunday, the nuclear power plant was attacked by drones in three places, according to IAEA observers. The dome of a reactor and targets in the immediate vicinity of reactor buildings were hit. No serious structural damage was sustained, but one person was reported injured. The observers also reported shots fired by Russian forces stationed at the nuclear power plant.
On Tuesday, the IAEA team on site was informed by the plant’s Russian management of another drone attack on a training centre at the nuclear power plant.
Grossi announced that he would be travelling to the UN Security Council in New York next week to advocate for the safety of the facility.
At the IAEA meeting, Ukrainian diplomat Nataliia Kostenko denounced Russian accusations that the Ukrainian military had attacked the nuclear power plant close to the front line as “lies” and said it was Russia “deliberately causing nuclear threats.”
Last Reactor at Ukrainian Power Plant
Put into Cold State over Safety Concerns
(April 13, 2024) — The last reactor at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has been shut down as fighting continues in the area for the third year.
This means all of the plant’s six reactor units are now in a cold shutdown state. No radioactivity escaped during the procedure, the facility’s management wrote on Telegram on Saturday.
The work was carried out strictly in accordance with all applicable operating standards, the Russian-installed management emphasized.
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, with a capacity of almost six gigawatts, was occupied by Russian troops shortly after the Kremlin-ordered invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
It was extensively mined and came under fire several times, stoking international concern about a potential nuclear accident.
Both warring parties repeatedly accused each other of trying to provoke an incident at the plant, which was shut down in September 2022 due to the danger.
However, one block operated in a warm state on several occasions, meaning the reactor does not produce electricity but steam, which is used for the plant’s needs.
The cold state is considered the safest as the blocks are run down to low pressure and are cooled by cold water.
