KYIV, Ukraine - Concerns regarding the safety of Europe's largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, have intensified following orders from the Moscow-installed governor of the Ukrainian region to evacuate civilians, including those from the city where most plant workers reside.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has been urging Russian and Ukrainian officials to establish a security zone around the power plant in order to prevent war-related radiation leaks. The evacuations ordered by Yegeny Balitsky, the Russia-backed governor of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia province, have heightened fears of increased fighting in the region. Balitsky directed civilians to leave 18 Russian-occupied communities, including Enerhodar, home to the majority of plant employees.
Over 1,500 people were evacuated from two cities in the region as of Sunday, according to Balitsky. The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed that Enerhodar's evacuation was in progress. The power plant was seized by Moscow's troops after invading Ukraine last year, but Ukrainian staff have continued to operate it, sometimes under extreme pressure.
With fighting escalating as Ukraine prepares for a counteroffensive to reclaim lost territory, Grossi warned that the situation near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was becoming increasingly unpredictable and dangerous. He urged immediate action to prevent a severe nuclear accident and protect the population and environment.
Despite the plant's six reactors being inactive due to the war, a reliable power supply is necessary for cooling systems to prevent a potential radiation disaster. Recent attacks on the area by Ukrainian forces have intensified, while ongoing battles continue in other parts of the country.
Accusations of war crimes have arisen following claims of Russia using phosphorus munitions, which are prohibited in areas with civilian populations. Other incidents, including drone attacks on Russia-occupied Crimea and Russian shelling in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, have led to casualties and damage.
Smells like blackmail or false flag.
Why the sudden forification of the powerplant? It's not in a very strategically important place and if Ukrainians want to disrupt the electricity provided by the plant, they can just destroy the power lines coming from the plant. If the Ukrainians wanted to shell the plant they could do it already, the distance to the opposite shore is a bit more than 10km, so easily within artillery range. This has been the situation since the russians withdrew from the right side of the Dnipro river.
Putin might try to use it as a way to force Ukraine to negotiate a bad deal. Or more worrisome, have his troops boobytrap the plant and then try…
War criminal Putin may kill of all of us yet. Somebody really needs to take him out.