A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency will travel to the nuclear power plant before September to conduct a thorough inspection and verify its condition
Thursday’s meeting in New York at the request of Moscow by the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council has given the world the idea that the situation at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya, the largest in Europe with six reactors in service and since the beginning March in the hands of the Russian army, it is “critical”.
It is therefore urgently necessary to take measures to prevent armed confrontations from leading to a large-scale nuclear leak. However, Russia rejected most of the proposals put on the table, although it supported the idea that an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation would travel to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant before September to conduct a thorough inspection and review your condition.
The main problem is the mysterious attacks that the facilities of the Zaporizhia factory have undergone. Kiev argues that they are being carried out by Russian forces with the aim of causing a nuclear accident and blaming the Ukrainian armed forces for it to justify renewed military intervention, while Moscow dismisses such an accusation as “absurd” because it their soldiers occupying the factory and they are not supposed to shoot themselves.
A major nuclear leak could affect virtually all of Ukraine as a whole, the annexed Crimea, some parts of southern Russia and even countries like Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria and Belarus, according to experts. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba believes that a hypothetical catastrophe in Zaporizhzhya would be “ten times” deadlier than the one in Chernobyl in 1986. For his part, the Chinese representative to the UN, Zhang Jun, warned during his speech in the Security Council that “the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is one of the largest in Europe. If a large-scale nuclear accident occurs, it could be more serious than the Fukushima accident in 2011.
IAEA director Rafael Grossi said in his speech that “these military actions near such a large nuclear facility could have very serious consequences.” He assured that there is “no immediate threat” to the safety of the plant’s operation at this time, but warned that “this could change at any time”. In his words, “preventing a nuclear disaster must be a collective and global objective. I have asked both sides to cooperate with the IAEA. We are in a difficult moment, in a serious hour and the agency must be able to carry out its mission in Zaporizhzhya as soon as possible. He assured that he himself will lead the delegation.
Then Russia’s representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, intervened to denounce that “Kiev’s criminal attacks on nuclear infrastructure facilities are putting the world on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe comparable in magnitude to Chernobyl’s.” As he noted, the Ukrainian bombings damaged several key power supply devices, destroyed pipes, ignited hydrogen in the distribution center and cut a power line. In another attack, an atomic waste warehouse, an automated radiation measurement monitoring panel, was hit and an employee was injured. However, Nebenzia acknowledged that “the radiation level at the Zaporizhzhya plant is normal at the moment”, but warned that if the attacks continue, “it will be a matter of time before a serious accident occurs”.
The Russian diplomat described Kiev’s allegations that Russia is attacking the factory as “cynical”, “absurd” and “contrary to common sense”. “The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is controlled by the Russian armed forces. Elementary logic suggests that our military has no reason to bomb the factory, the city or itself,” he added, ending by rejecting the proposal to demilitarize the area around the nuclear power plant in the face of the threat of ” provocations or attacks”. “terrorists against a facility we must defend.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for the withdrawal of Russian personnel and troops sent by Moscow from the nuclear power plant and for the creation of a “demilitarized safe perimeter”. The United States immediately supported the idea, as did Ukraine’s representative, Sergei Kislitsa, who also called on Russia to dismantle the mines “placed at various points in the nuclear power plant.” Kislitsa also condemned the Russian troops who bombed the towns of Nikopol and Marganets, located across the Dnieper River, from the nuclear power plant. The Ukrainian representative assured that his country is “ready to provide the IAEA mission with all necessary assistance and to guarantee its passage through the Ukraine-controlled area (…) if Russia stops bombing Nikopol and Marganets.” In the latter place, 13 civilians were killed on Wednesday by firing ‘Grad’ missiles that, according to the Ukrainian authorities, were launched by the Russian army exactly from the factory in Zaporizhzhya.
US Ambassador to the UN, Bonnie Jenkins, stated that “Russia alone has created these risks by launching a large-scale invasion. And only she can remove the threat by withdrawing her troops from Ukraine.” In his view, “the difficult situation surrounding the nuclear power plant is another tragic consequence of the Russian aggression against an independent state (…) something Ukraine is not to blame for.” has.”
Jenkins pointed out that Washington supports Kiev’s proposal to create a demilitarized zone around the factory and “return full control of the factory to the Ukrainians. This will enable the Ukrainian side to maintain the security and operation of the complex with all precautions, as has been the case for decades,” a possibility Moscow flatly rejected.
The representatives of the United Kingdom and France, as well as the representatives of other Western countries who are now non-permanent members of the Security Council, spoke along the same lines as the United States. before the bombings, they repeatedly insisted that there would be no problems at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant without President Vladimir Putin’s military operation.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Denís Monastirski has stated that the Zaporizhia plant is “not only in the hands of the enemy, but also of unqualified specialists who, with their inexperience, could cause a tragedy”. In his words: «Ukrainian specialists who remain there are not allowed to enter the areas where they should be, while the Russian war equipment is within the perimeter of the infrastructure. All of this has been assessed at the highest threat level.”
On March 4, the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant was hit by rockets and tank fire from Russian troops willing to end a focus of resistance inside by Ukrainian soldiers. A fire broke out and one of the reactors had to be shut down. The event raised alarms worldwide over fears of a radioactive leak and sparked a UN Security Council meeting. But nothing serious happened. From then on, the factory fell completely into the hands of Russian troops, who arrived on the scene on February 28, four days after the start of the Russian invasion.
Source: La Verdad
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