Both sides in the battle have been accusing the other of attacking the nuclear power facility, which has been under the hands of Russian troops since March. These accusations have been going on for many days. An plea from the United Nations was made: "Immediately cease all activity in the neighborhood." How likely is it that there will be a catastrophe? The parallels with Fukushima and the potential for similar events.
 |
| [Russia-Ukraine war map/ BBC] |
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility and its surrounding region have been subjected to continuous attack in Ukraine. And there is the possibility of a catastrophe: "Stop the military activities, an agreement is required to establish a demilitarized and safe zone," said Antonio Guterres, the secretary general of the United Nations, echoing the warning issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Both Russia and Ukraine accuse the other of putting the facility, which is the biggest one in Europe that is currently operational, in jeopardy. Within the plant, Ukrainian specialists operate under the supervision of Russian forces. Yesterday, the Ukrainian business Energoatom said that Russian raids had struck the Zaporizhzhia complex five times, "even near the storage of radioactive goods, although radiation levels were normal."
These days, all of the attention in the world is being directed on the power plant. Because there were still additional explosions yesterday, people from all over the world, including the United States, are asking that the facility be designated as a semi-littered zone. Along the left bank of the Dnieper River, the power plant can be found in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar, which is situated in the southeast of the country (Dnipro in Ukrainian). The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense has indicated on many occasions that Russia is using the region to launch operations, taking advantage of the "protected status" of the nuclear power plant in order to lessen the likelihood of nocturnal assaults by Ukrainian troops.
Both the Russians and the Ukrainians have spoken out against a fresh assault that was carried out on the Zaporizhzhia (Znpp) nuclear power station. Both nations accuse the other of carrying out the strike. According to a report by a Russian news service called Tass, Ukrainian military shot twice today at the factory, which has been occupied by the Russians since March but where Ukrainian specialists are still working. Energoatom, a Ukrainian energy firm, has also condemned the assaults against the facility and has pointed the blame to pro-Russian militias as the culprits. The Russians conducted another bombing raid on the Znpp today; a total of five bullets were registered "in the neighborhood of the central co mmander's office, close to the spot where welding takes place and where radioactive materials are stored. According to a report made by Energoatom on Telegram, a tiny section of grass caught fire, however nobody was hurt in the blaze. Following then, the article adds, five more rounds have been made it to the target "the neighborhood around the fire station, located not too far from the Znpp. Buses carrying plant employees who were scheduled to start their shifts were turned around and driven back to Energodar out of an abundance of caution. The workforce that is now present at the facility will continue to be on duty until the situation returns to normal." It has been said by Energoatom that "The situation at the plant is managed and under control at the moment. The report that the personnel fled the factory in a panic, which was quickly disseminated among the hostile public, is a fabrication and a kind of manipulation ".
The "criminal activities against the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station" that have been committed in Ukraine have the potential to bring "the world to the verge of a nuclear catastrophe." According to TASS, this information was presented by Vasily Nebenzya, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, at the meeting of the United Nations Security Council. "We have consistently warned the West that, in the event that it does not bring it back, the dictatorship in Kiev would adopt the most barbaric and irresponsible actions, the repercussions of which will be felt well beyond the boundaries of Ukraine. Sadly, this is the situation that we find ourselves in at the moment "according to the diplomat. According to Nebenzya, "Kyiv's illegal assaults on nuclear infrastructure are bringing the globe closer and closer to the edge of a nuclear disaster equal to that of Chernobyl." "It is possible that it will occur at any time if the assaults carried out by the military forces of Ukraine continue. And the areas around Kiev, Zaporozhye, Kharkov, Poltava, Kherson, Odessa, Nikolaev, Kirovograd, Vinnitsa, the DPR and the LPR, as well as the border regions of Russia and Belarus, will be at risk of being contaminated by radioactive materials.
According to comments made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Kviv Independent, "Russia must withdraw from the nuclear power plant in order to restore the security of Europe." According to Zelensky, "Russia has stooped to a new low in the history of terrorism around the globe." "No one else has exploited a nuclear power plant in such an overt manner in order to threaten everyone on the planet and demand certain terms," the speaker said. According to the Ukrainians, the Moscow troops are using the power plant as a fortification to shelter themselves from the Ukrainians while also using it as a base from which to bomb enemy positions without being disturbed.
At a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York, Guterres expressed his "grave concern" over the recent escalation of assaults and demanded that "the armed forces of Russia and Ukraine immediately halt all activity in the neighborhood of the facility." After that, he asked all parties to remove all military troops and equipment from the facility, to stop from deploying any more soldiers or equipment on the site, and to negotiate an agreement as soon as possible to secure the whole region around the plant. "It is imperative that everyone understands that even the smallest amount of damage to Zaporizhzhia or any other nuclear site may have devastating effects over a large area. This is just wrong in every way "Guterres remarked.
The facility was one of the first targets of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In addition, the plant's six reactors have a combined net capacity of 950 megawatts of energy, which means that the plant is capable of satisfying the demand for electricity from four million homes. There are now just two operational reactors, and the Moscow army has taken control of around 10,000 of the facility's workers. During these hours, the Ukrainian state-owned company Energoatom, which managed the plant until March of this year, announced that Russia's intention is to cut off supplies to the southern region of the country. Russia would have sent employees of its own state-owned company Rosatom to the location in order to accomplish this goal.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Zaporizhzhia violated five of the seven principles of nuclear safety, including: the physical integrity of the facilities as a result of military activity; the functioning of the protection systems at all times; the good conditions of employees who work under conditions of enormous stress; the power supply, which suffered damage to an external line; and the monitoring of possible radiation. All of these violations occurred. Following a day of very rapid expansion, it was encouraging to hear the remarks of Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Aiea), who said that the facility did not pose a "immediate danger." However, as Grossi pointed out, the circumstance might shift at any time, and he emphasized once again (for the umpteenth time), the need of Aiea-based experts paying a visit to the facility as soon as they possibly can. According to statements made by the Ukrainian national nuclear enterprise on many occasions, Ukraine has never publicly asked the IAEA to visit the country since doing so would legitimize Russia's presence.
Unfortunately, this is a reality that can be refuted by no one, and it concerns the fact that the greatest nuclear power plant in Europe is perilously near to a nuclear war. The recent rise in the number of bombs has significantly increased the potential of mishaps, even if they are inadvertent or very small. One example of this would be the disruption of the electrical supply, which might lead to the release of radioactive material.
When a reactor at the Chernobyl facility exploded in 1986, it caused the most catastrophic nuclear accident in history to take place in the region of northern Ukraine. Soon after the invasion on February 24 of this year, Russian soldiers took what is left of the Chernobyl facility, but they retreated after five weeks of control of the area. The computers at the facility were either stolen or destroyed, but the activities did not have any effect on the nuclear machinery at the decommissioned plant.
The scenario in Zaporizhzhia, where 500 Russian troops and 50 heavy vehicles, including tanks, are reportedly stationed, according to Ukraine, does not yet support predictions of a calamity that would affect all of Europe, according to a variety of specialists. According to Leon Cizelj, head of the European Nuclear Society, the hazards of the attack are minimized since the reactors are covered by 10 meters of concrete. This information was provided by the According to his estimation, the reactor walls could only be "breached" by a continuous assault of targeted aircraft bombardments.
He went on to say that an assault on fuel storage facilities would have a limited impact since any radioactive material that was spilled would only travel between 10 and 20 kilometers. James Acton, who is the co-director of the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that the bombing is not the actual danger, and he pointed instead to the fragility of the plant's cooling systems as the source of concern. He said that a better comparison would be with Fukushima than than Chernobyl. The architecture of nuclear power plants include a number of different independent safety mechanisms, which may include a large number of grid connections and diesel generators as a backup. A spray pond is another method of cooling used by Zaporizhzhia. This method involves spraying hot water from inside the plant into the surrounding air in order to bring down the temperature of the air. According to Acton, they "will really be pretty susceptible because they have to be in communication with the outside world," and as a result, they may be possible targets for an assault.
Both of the specialists emphasized the fact that even in the most catastrophic situation, in which the cooling systems fail, resulting in the reactor melting down, the damage would only be severe in the immediate area. Cizelj has determined that the radius is around 30 kilometers. "It would be a tragedy for the local community," he stated, despite the fact that it would not cause immediate casualties. However, "for us in Europe it would be a pretty inconsequential event," he said, "in terms of the ramifications for health or for the environment."
The Politico raises the question of why Russia and Ukraine continue to accuse one another of bombing and bring attention to the potential for catastrophes. According to John Erath, senior political director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, a non-profit organization, "the thought of a nuclear disaster is alarming, it will attract people's attention, therefore it's an instant instrument for that reason." According to him, this presents an opportunity for Russia to "increase the stakes" in order to "raise worries" and to "emphasize the significance of continuing the military operation at home." According to the findings of an investigation conducted by the Institute for the Study of War, it is also possible that Moscow is using this tactic in order to "play on Western concerns of a nuclear calamity and undercut Western readiness to offer more military assistance to Ukraine." According to Erath, the objective in Ukraine is to continue focusing attention on the events that are taking place at the facility.