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Tag: Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

  • Ukraine accused by Russia of planning ‘catastrophic’ strike on Zaporizhzhia

    Ukraine accused by Russia of planning ‘catastrophic’ strike on Zaporizhzhia

    The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is allegedly under “a great threat of sabotage,” which “could have catastrophic consequences.”

    As tensions around the complex rose on Tuesday, Russia and Ukraine once more accused one another of planning an attack on Europe’s largest plant.

    Volodymyr Zelensky forewarned that Moscow’s troops might have planted explosives on the roof, which, when they went off, might have been attributed to Ukrainian bombardment.

    But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hit back at the claims, saying measures were being taken to counter the threat posed to the plant by ‘the Kyiv regime’.

    ‘The situation is quite tense because there is indeed a great threat of sabotage by the Kyiv regime, which could be catastrophic in its consequences,’ he said.

    ‘The Kyiv regime has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to do anything. Therefore, all measures are being taken to counter such a threat.’

    He did not present evidence to back his assertions.

    Russian troops took control of the Zaporizhzhia plant last year soon after embarking on what Vladimir Putin calls his ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.

    Each side has since regularly accused the other of shelling around the plant and of risking a major nuclear incident.

    Last year, when a threat of an accident at the plant first arose, Ukraine established a crisis response headquarters.

    Recently, emergency workers have been taking part in drills in preparation for a potential radiation leak.

    Footage showed rescuers in yellow and white protective gear and gas masks, using dosimeters to check passenger cars and trucks for radiation levels and then cleaning wheels before vehicles underwent additional decontamination at specialised washing points. A man on a stretcher was brought into a medical tent as sirens blared.

    According to the emergency services, in case of a nuclear disaster at the plant, approximately 300,000 people would be evacuated from the areas closest to the facility.

    That covers four regions: Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv. The evacuation would be mandatory.

    Those forced to flee will be allowed to bring their pets with them, according to the services. Buses, trains, and personal cars would be used for the evacuation from the affected zone.

    A leaflet distributed online lists what to pack in case of an evacuation from a radiation zone.

    It then adds: ‘Tightly wrap your suitcase or backpack with cling film or scotch tape. This will definitely ease the process of their deactivation at the sanitation units.’

    Depending on the wind direction and the spread of radiation, people would be taken to safer areas within Ukraine.

    ‘There are different scenarios, but we are preparing for the most critical one,’ Yurii Vlasenko, the Ukranian deputy minister of energy said.

  • WHO – This winter, millions of lives in Ukraine are at risk

    World Health Organization has disclosed that, millions of people’s lives will be jeopardised in Ukraine this winter.

    According to Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is damaged or destroyed, and 10 million people are currently without power.

    Temperatures in some areas are expected to drop as low as -20C (-4F).

    Since Russia’s invasion began, the WHO has documented 703 attacks on health infrastructure.

    Russia hit more energy installations and civilian buildings last week in one of the war’s heaviest aerial bombardments.

    This has been a recent Russian tactic following setbacks on the battlefield, and its impact is starting to be felt more acutely as winter sets in.

    “Put simply, this winter will be about survival,” Dr Kluge told a news conference in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

    Ukraine’s health system is “facing its darkest days in the war so far”, and the best solution is for the conflict to end, he added.

    Dr Kluge said hundreds of hospitals and healthcare facilities were “no longer fully operational, lacking fuel, water and electricity to meet basic needs” as a result of attacks. The WHO defines an attack as involving violence as well as threatened violence against hospitals, ambulance and medical supplies.

    Maternity wards need incubators, blood banks need refrigerators and intensive care beds need ventilators, Dr Kluge said, adding that “all require energy”.

    Up to three million people could flee their homes in search of warmth and safety, the WHO says.

    Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe
    Image caption, “Put simply, this winter will be about survival,” Dr Kluge told a press conference in Kyiv

    Dr Kluge said he was “very concerned” for 17,000 HIV patients in Donetsk “who may soon run out of critical antiretroviral drugs that help keep them alive”.

    Much of Donetsk is under Russian control and Dr Kluge said he was “urgently calling for the creation of a humanitarian health corridor into all newly regained and occupied areas”.

    There are also concerns about Covid cases rising.

    “With low basic vaccination rates – let alone boosters – millions of Ukrainians have waning or no immunity to Covid,” Dr Kluge said.

    The warnings come as snow has fallen across Ukraine and temperatures have dropped below freezing.

    In Kyiv, snow covers walkways, empty playgrounds and park benches. Few people are on the streets.

    Kyiv
    Image caption, Kyiv is covered in snow, and temperatures will drop further

    Despite the snow, winter has not officially started and temperatures are likely to drop much further.

    The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which used to produce more than 25% of Ukraine’s electricity, no longer generates power.

    There was renewed shelling at the plant over the weekend.

    The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, condemned the attacks, saying it was another “close call” at Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant.

    IAEA experts toured the site on Monday, and the agency said they found widespread damage, but that there were no immediate nuclear safety or security concerns.

    Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of carrying out the attacks.

    Elsewhere in the war, Ukrainian prosecutors have given details of what they have found in four alleged torture chambers in Kherson after Russian troops left the southern city.

    They say people were “brutally tortured”, and that batons, bullets and an electrocution device were discovered.

    Last week, Ukraine said it had found the bodies of 63 civilians bearing signs of torture near Kherson. The BBC also spoke to two people who said they had been held for more than a month in “torture chambers”.

    Russia denies committing abuses during its invasion.

  • At least 12 hits on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine claims

    More now on the shelling attack that has struck the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

    As we told you earlier, Russia initially reported the bombardment, blaming Ukraine, and the UN nuclear watchdog then confirmed explosions had been recorded at the site.

    Ukraine’s nuclear energy company Energoatom has now commented on the attack, saying there were at least 12 hits on the plant’s facilities and accusing Moscow of being behind the strike.

    It added that the list of damaged equipment indicated the attackers “targeted and disabled exactly the infrastructure” needed for the restoration of power production.

    The nuclear power plant, which is Europe’s biggest, has come under several attacks since the war began, causing it to be disconnected from the grid and sparking fears of a nuclear incident.

    Both Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly blamed each other for the attacks.

     

    Source; Sky News

  • UN watchdog: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is a Ukrainian facility

    The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is considered to be a Ukrainian facility, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said tonight.

    Moscow seized control of the plant in southern Ukraine in March, shortly after invading Ukraine, but Ukrainian staff continues to operate it.

    Shelling and damage near the site, which both Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for, have caused concerns over the safety of the plant.

    On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin signed a decree declaring that Russia was taking over the plant. However, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it considered Mr Putin’s decree “null and void”.

    Rafael Grossi today visited Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

    He said: “This is a matter that has to do with international law … we want the war to stop immediately, and of course, the position of the IAEA is that this facility is a Ukrainian facility.”

    He was due to travel to Moscow for talks to meet Russian officials following his talks in the Ukrainian capital.

  • Russian patrol detains the general manager of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant: Energoatom

    The director-general of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been detained by a Russian patrol, according to Energoatom, the state agency in charge of the plant.

    Ihor Murashov was detained on his way from Europe’s largest nuclear plant to the town of Enerhodar at about 4 pm (13:00 GMT) on Friday, the company said in a statement.

    “He was taken out of the car, and with his eyes blindfolded he was driven in an unknown direction,” it said.

  • Video: Inspectors from the IAEA getting set to fly to Zaporizhzhia

    Nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been pictured here just before departing for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

    The local mayor has since said the mission was unable to reach the nuclear plant due to Russian shelling.

    However, there has been no official confirmation of this yet from the IAEA so it is unclear what is happening.

     

  • Pope warns of potential ‘nuclear disaster’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

    Pope Francis today called for “concrete steps” to be taken to avert a nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – which is currently under Russian occupation.

    Speaking at his weekly general audience, the pontiff said: “I hope that concrete steps will be taken to bring an end to the war and to avert the risk of a nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia.”

    The religious leader also condemned wars as “madness” and referred to the death of Darya Dugina, the daughter of prominent Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin, who was killed in a car bombing near Moscow on Saturday.

    “Innocents pay for war, innocents,” he said.

    On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it would  visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant within days if talks to gain access succeed.

    Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of firing at the facility, the largest of its kind in Europe, after Russian forces seized control of the plant earlier this year.

    Source: Sky news

  • Military activities endangering nuclear security ‘must be stopped’ – IAEA chief

    Shelling at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has violated virtually all seven nuclear safety and security pillars, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, has said.

    However, IAEA experts believe the shelling hasn’t caused an immediate nuclear safety threat, based on information provided by Ukraine, Grossi says.

    For days, Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for attacks on the site, which is Europe’s largest nuclear plant and has raised concerns of a major accident.

    The complex has been under Russian occupation since early March, although Ukrainian technicians still operate it.

    “All military activities that endanger nuclear and security must be stopped,” Grossi has said.

    G7 nations have condemned Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and called on Moscow to “immediately hand back full control” to Ukraine.

    Ukrainian staff operating the plant “must be able to carry out their duties without threats or pressure. It is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region,” the G7 foreign ministers said in a statement.

    “The Russian Federation must immediately withdraw its troops from within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and respect Ukraine’s territory and sovereignty,” it said.

    The G7 have said they remain “profoundly concerned by the serious threat” posed by Russia’s actions around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

    They say the actions of Russia’s armed forces are significantly raising the risk of a nuclear accident or incident and endangering the population of Ukraine, neighbouring states and the international community.

    The G7 reiterate their “strongest condemnation” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which they call an “unprovoked and unjustifiable war of aggression”.

    They say Russia’s actions also undermine the ability of the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor the safety of nuclear activities in Ukraine.

    Source: BBC