The agency’s director and thirteen other experts will inspect the plant “this week” to determine the risk of a radioactive catastrophe
“The day has come, the IAEA mission is on its way to Zaporizhzhya. We must protect the security of Ukraine and Europe’s largest power plant.” With these words, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, announced yesterday that a delegation led by him and made up of thirteen other experts has managed to The group will be able to determine the risk of a nuclear disaster “this week” after months of pushing for a thorough inspection of the facilities, which have been controlled by Russian forces since March and have been the target of attacks that have targeted Kiev and Moscow. be accused.
The last few weeks of bombing, as well as the total closure of Zaporizhzhya on Thursday after damage caused by a fire to the electricity grid, have raised concerns about the plant’s safety. Fears mounted on Saturday when Ukrainian state operator Energoatom warned that “the station’s infrastructure has been damaged, there is a risk of hydrogen leakage and spraying of radioactive substances.”
The situation in Zaporizhzhya has not improved in recent hours. While the IAEA informed the international community of its mission, Russia denounced new Ukrainian attacks, in particular two artillery shells that were said to have hit near reactor number 6 and a pumping station for cooling the plant, respectively. The Kiev authorities did not respond to the allegations, limiting themselves to reporting a new offensive by Kremlin troops near the plant, which houses six of the country’s 15 reactors.
In this war scenario, the experts of the UN nuclear agency will have to perform a complex control task. “This mission will be the toughest in IAEA history because of the combat activities Russia is conducting on the ground,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba said yesterday. The experts, according to the New York Times, come from mostly neutral countries, without representation from the United Kingdom and the United States, to get permission from Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov yesterday described the observers’ visit as “necessary” and called for “pressure” on Ukrainian troops to ease tensions around the factory and “stop endangering the environment.” continent of Europe by bombing the facility and its surroundings”.
However, the Russian speech in favor of the arrival of the IAEA contrasted with Energoatom’s version. Not in vain, he pointed out that Russian troops are “preparing for the arrival of the IAEA mission and are putting pressure on factory personnel to prevent them from collecting evidence of the occupant’s crimes at the factory.” He also said that “10 residents were injured” in the bombings of the past 24 hours in Energodar, the city where Zaporizhzhya is located. Among them are four factory workers.
The Ukrainian operator also stated on Telegram yesterday that the factory “operates with the risk of violating the safety rules regarding radiation and fire”. Still, both Energoatom and the Russian Defense Ministry assured that radiation levels in the area are “normal” for now.
Source: La Verdad
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