On Monday, August 8, the United States called on Russia to halt military activity in and around Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, including Zaporizhia, the largest in Europe and held by the Russian military.
“We continue to call on Russia to cease all military operations in and around Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and return control to Ukraine.White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing on Air Force One. “Fighting over a nuclear power plant is dangerous– he said, emphasizing that according to the collected data.Fortunately, we have no indications of an abnormal increase in radioactivity levels“.
Mutual accusations
The Zaporozhye power plant, located in southern Ukraine and controlled by Russian forces, has been the target of two bombings in recent days, damaging some of its facilities. Russia and Ukraine have been accusing each other of the attacks since Friday, without any independent sources confirming this.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that the latest strike, which took place overnight Saturday and Sunday, damaged a high-voltage line that supplies electricity to two regions of Ukraine. He also reported “waveat a power station, which caused smoke to leak from a switchgear designed to protect and control electrical equipment. “Firefighters who arrived at the scene managed to clear the smokeadded the Russian Ministry. According to the same source.The capacity of reactors 5 and 6 of the nuclear power plant was reduced to 500 MW to prevent interruption of work.“.
This bombingby the armed forces of Ukraine“is”potentially extremely dangerous“and”could have catastrophic consequences for a large area, including the European areaKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
“Demilitarized zone”.
Meanwhile, the head of the Ukrainian “Energoatom” nuclear agency called on Monday to create “demilitarized zoneat the factory site. “What needs to be done is to get the occupants out of the power plant area and create a demilitarized zone.said Petro Kotin in a video posted on Energoatom’s Telegram page.
“There should be a peacekeeping mission that would also include experts from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and other security organizations.He continued, referring to the presence of the Russian army on the spot.creates the greatest danger for the future: a radiation accident or even a nuclear disaster“. He also accused the IAEA of havingvery mild responseIn March, the Russian army occupied that place. According to him, the Zaporozhye power plant, which is the largest in Ukraine and Europe, occupies “about 500 soldiers and 50 heavy vehicles, tanks and trucks“.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) made a decision on Saturday.increasingly alarming» information from Zaporizhia, one of whose reactors was to be shut down. This is not the first time when the situation at the Zaporizhia power plant causes concern. In an attack that led to the seizure of the Zaporizhia power plant in March, the Russian military opened fire on administrative buildings at the site, sparking fears of a major nuclear accident. And last month, Russia accused the Ukrainian forces of using drones in the territory of this nuclear power plant. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres emphasized on Monday.Any attack on nuclear power plants is suicide“.
Source: Le Figaro
