Given the continuing tense situation at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine, there are mounting concerns about a nuclear disaster. Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna, Yevhenij Zymbaljuk, said in a press conference on Monday that mass destruction had already taken place in and around the power plant. “A nuclear incident at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant would be comparable to Chernobyl or Fukushima,” he warned.
Zymbalyuk said there had been more explosions around the nuclear power plant since Aug. 5 and the region’s energy supply had largely collapsed. Zaporizhzhya Oblast is now occupied by Russian troops and Ukrainian technicians will continue to work at the power plant, but they will be subjected to “torture and reprisals,” the diplomat said.
“Hundreds of craters” around the power plant
Among other things, a nuclear fuel storage facility was endangered by the ongoing shelling, there were “hundreds of craters” around the power plant and the control center was also damaged. However, there is no way to verify what was actually destroyed, as the Russian nuclear energy agency Rosatom is now in control of the power plant.
Representations on the Russian side that Ukraine itself had shot at power plants were dismissed as “cynical” by the diplomat. According to Zymbalyuk, Russia’s goal is to destroy Ukraine’s energy supply, or “redirect electricity into the territory of the Russian Federation and thus steal it”. The diplomat again called for massive sanctions against Rosatom and spoke of “Russian nuclear terror”.
Expert on the “Krone”: “Disaster increasingly likely”
Global 2000 expert Reinhard Uhrig, who has a good network of activists from the region, warned the “Krone” of a nuclear catastrophe that is becoming more likely by the minute. Large areas can be radioactively contaminated. “A meltdown like the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima is just one of the devastating scenarios. Depending on the wind direction, hundreds of square kilometers would be affected.” The UN itself speaks of a miracle that this worst-case scenario has not yet occurred: “One spark is now enough.”
A few days ago, Kiev called for the establishment of a demilitarized zone around the nuclear power plant. Zymbaljuko said Monday that a UN-mandated peacekeeping mission would of course be approved. As soon as possible – by the end of the month at the latest – experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will go on a mission to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Currently, however, this is impossible due to the constant bombing.
Nuclear power plant essential to supply Ukraine
The head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, had already warned of the risk of a nuclear disaster. The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant has been in operation since 1985 and has been essential to Ukraine’s energy supply since the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Almost the entire south of the country is supplied by Zaporizhzhya.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
