– I am extremely concerned about the shelling yesterday at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Rafael Grossi is said to have said on Saturday, according to The Guardian. Grossi is Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He emphasizes that there is now a great real risk of a nuclear disaster, which could threaten public health and the environment in Ukraine and surrounding areas. Grossi says he is therefore very concerned about the destruction the attacks caused. Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, is concerned after the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya was hit by a military attack on Friday. Photo: LEONHARD FOEGER / Reuters Zelenskyj: Wants a stronger international response Among other things, one reactor at the power plant is out of operation. There is also said to have been serious damage to a station where nitrogen and oxygen are stored. A support building for the power plant is also said to be damaged, reports Energoatom, which operates the plant, on the social media Telegram. The news agency Reuters reports on Sunday that a worker at the facility is said to have been injured in a new attack on Saturday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is said to have called for a stronger international response to what he calls “Russian nuclear terror” in a telephone conversation with Charles Michel of the European Council, writes the Reuters news agency. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack “Russian nuclear terrorism”. The picture is from a press conference on 28 July this year. Photo: SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP – Not made for military attacks There has been no radioactive spread after the attacks. For us in Norway, the danger is not great now, but the Norwegian authorities say they are watching closely. – We shouldn’t be safe, but we must keep a close eye. We also do that from the authorities’ side, says Øyvind Selnæs, head of section in the Directorate for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, to news on Sunday. He says the situation around the facility is serious. – These are not facilities built to be in war zones. It is the first time we have seen such nuclear power plants affected by war in this way. It is important to follow. We take this very seriously. No need for iodine tablets Sælnes explains that the military attack could lead to the release of radioactive substances and that in the worst case they could reach Norway. Read also: Norway fears nuclear accident in Ukraine – If they are large enough, the worst case scenario could reach Norway, but they will be very thin on the way, but we are prepared to take measures here too if necessary. He emphasizes that a spill will not be serious for Norway. – If there is a serious release, we think that in the worst case it will be on a par with what we saw after the Chernobyl fallout. It will then be a question of measures in food production, reindeer husbandry and open fields. – There will be no need to take iodine tablets or to evacuate from here, says Sælnes. Danger remains The attack “has caused a serious risk to the safe operation of the facility”, Grossi is said to have said, according to the newspaper. Any attack against the facility could lead to catastrophic consequences, he believes. – Military actions that endanger the safety of the nuclear power plant are completely unacceptable and must be avoided at all costs. – There is still a risk of leakage of hydrogen and radioactive substances, and the risk of fire is also high, writes Energoatom. For several months, the IAEA has wanted to send inspectors to the nuclear power plant. Ukraine has refused the inspectors access and claims that a visit will help legitimize Russia’s occupation of the power plant, writes NTB. Accusing each other Both Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of being behind Friday’s attack. The nuclear power plant, which is Europe’s largest, has been under Russian occupation since March. It is still mainly operated by Ukrainian workers, writes NTB. Russian military convoy stands on the road in front of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya on May 1 this year. The nuclear power plant has been under Russian occupation since March. Photo: AP Kyiv accuses Russian troops of storing heavy weapons at the facility, which they seized in March and continue to occupy. Moscow, for its part, has accused Ukrainian forces of targeting it, writes The Guardian. According to Grossi, the attacks on Friday are just the latest in a long line of increasingly alarming messages from Zaporizhzhya. On Wednesday, Grossi said that the situation at the power plant is unstable and unsafe, writes NTB. – Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated. What is at stake here is extremely serious, grave and dangerous, Grossi said then. – The situation is unstable. We cannot allow that to continue, he added.
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Sounding the alarm after a military attack on a nuclear power plant – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
