After the attacks on the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, Russia again accused Ukraine of having bombed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned on Monday that the attacks would have “catastrophic consequences” for Europe. Meanwhile, Ukrainian energy company Energoatom has called for the establishment of a demilitarized zone around the nuclear facility. Ukraine, for its part, had previously accused Russia of attacking the nuclear power plant.
Plant parts damaged – reactor shut down
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has been hit twice in the past few days. Parts of the plant were damaged and one reactor had to be shut down. The nuclear power plant has been occupied by the Russian army since the beginning of March. The invading forces took control of the nuclear facility days after the attack on Ukraine began.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov said on Monday that the shelling of the plant “by Ukrainian forces” was “potentially extremely dangerous” and could have consequences over a wide area, “including European territory”. Russia expects countries that have influence over Ukraine to use it and prevent such bombings in the future.
The operator demands a demilitarized zone
The Russian Defense Ministry said shelling by the Ukrainian military damaged a high-voltage power line that supplies electricity to nearby areas. There was a “power surge” that caused smoke in a switchgear. According to the operator Energoatom, there was a “risk of radioactive radiation and an increased risk of fire”.
Energoatom demanded Monday “to withdraw the occupying forces from the plant and to set up a demilitarized zone in the premises of the plant”. The fact that the occupants are there is “the greatest danger for the future” and could “lead to a nuclear disaster”, company boss Petro Kotin said. According to him, there are 500 Russian soldiers and a lot of military equipment at the site of the nuclear power plant.
German expert: “extremely worrying” situation
German nuclear experts are also extremely worried. “If the Russian side seems to be starting to play with this situation, it’s extremely worrying,” Thomas Walter Tromm of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology told Phoenix TV. The scientist from Karlsruhe considers a possible core meltdown accident, which would be associated with the release of radioactivity, as the greatest danger. “This scenario would be extremely dangerous for Ukraine, but also for neighboring countries, depending on the weather situation,” Tromm continued.
UN Secretary General António Guterres previously condemned any attack on nuclear facilities as “suicidal”. He hopes the attacks on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant will stop and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be allowed access to the facility, he said. IAEA Secretary General Rafael Grossi warned this weekend of a “very real danger of nuclear catastrophe” after the bombing of the nuclear power plant. The South Ukraine Power Plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
