At the latest this morning, parts of one of the administration buildings in Enerhodar were hit by grenades or rockets. news spoke on Wednesday evening with Dmytro Orlov, the 37-year-old mayor of the city which is located close to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. And the pictures he posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday morning show that this is not empty talk. Windows are broken and there is obvious damage to the building which, until 24 February, was the workplace of the mayor in a perfectly normal medium-sized Ukrainian city. The building of the city council in Enerhodar was damaged in shooting on Wednesday morning. Photo: From Dmytro Orlov’s Facebook page The atomic city of Enerhodar But Enerhodar is not an ordinary town. It was founded as late as 1970, and is located where it is for a reason: This is where the workers at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant live. Before the war broke out, probably 50,000 people lived there. In recent weeks, the nuclear power plant has come into the world’s focus, after there was a danger that the hostilities could trigger radioactive emissions, and in the worst case: a new nuclear disaster like the one that happened in Chernobyl, also at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Ukrainian nuclear power plant was disconnected from the power grid: – Increases the risk The six reactors in the abbreviated ZAES – Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant are located on the south side of a giant reservoir in the Dnipro River. Normally, the power plant accounts for a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity production. The nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya – it’s Ukraine, says this poster sent out by the Ukrainian authorities. Photo: Privat Important that the IAEA comes to visit On Wednesday, a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) came to Zaporizhzhya. They are scheduled to continue to Enerhodar and the nuclear power plant on Thursday. – Our goal is to stabilize the situation as best we can, said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, before entering the hotel in the city of Zaporizhzhya, 50 kilometers from the nuclear power plant itself. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi together with Ukrainian energy minister German Galuschenko in Zaporizhzhya on Wednesday. Photo: GENYA SAVILOV / AFP Dmytro Orlov himself was present in front of Hotel Reikartz when the cars with Grossi and the IAEA arrived in Zaporizhzhya on Wednesday afternoon. – For the workers and residents of my home town, of course, this visit is very important, says Orlov to news. A Russian soldier stands guard at one of the reactors at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya Photo: ANDREY BORODULIN / AFP The workers live under tremendous pressure, with heavily armed Russian soldiers around them all the time. The Russian occupation authorities have switched off all Ukrainian TV channels, and mobile and internet only work at times, says Orlov. Ever since the Russian attack on 24 February, Dmytro Orlov has actively fought against the occupation of parts of Ukraine. Enough food, but little medicine Dmytro Orlov himself and most of the administration in Enerhodar chose to leave the city this spring, after trying to function as normal, under Russian occupation. The Russian forces advanced rapidly almost unopposed after crossing the border from the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula on 24 February. Already at the beginning of March, they took control of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya. An attempt to take control of another nuclear power plant in the neighboring county of Mykolajiv was beaten back at the last minute. Fears of fighting at new nuclear power plant Now Mayor Dmytro Orlov is trying to help the residents as best he can based on Ukrainian-controlled territory in Zaporizhzhya. – Fortunately, we live in a rich agricultural area, so the residents have access to food, says Orlov. But most shops and pharmacies are closed. The civilian population of Enerhodar has recently had to feel the war in Ukraine firsthand. 10 injured in shooting in the last 24 hours On the other hand, the doctors and the rest of the health personnel have managed to maintain almost normal operations at the hospital, which is very important when there is now daily shooting in the area. Dmytro Orlov says that in the last 24 hours alone, ten people have been injured in the shooting, at least one of them seriously. This after a residential area in the city was hit. Ukraine: On its knees, but not defeated IAEA chief Rafael Grossi says that they will need several days to get an overview of the situation at the nuclear power plant. But a representative of the Russian occupation authorities, Vladimir Rogov, writes on Telegram that the delegation from the IAEA must have queued to cross the front line, just like others. He also says that he expects the visit to go quickly and not to extend beyond a day. According to the plan, the delegation from the IAEA will start from the city of Zaporizhzhya on Thursday morning and arrive at the nuclear power plant at 1 p.m.
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