Holes in roof discovered in building at Europe’s largest nuclear plant after Russian shelling raised fears of disaster
HOLES was discovered on a roof of Europe’s largest nuclear plant after the Russians allegedly shelled the area.
The building inside the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine appears to have been damaged recently, with the roof near the country’s nuclear reactors.
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As a team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) prepares to visit the facility, new Maxar satellite photos of the plant were released today.
High resolution images provide a detailed view of the plant and surrounding area.
Damage was seen on the roof of a building adjacent to several nuclear reactors.
It also shows a group of armored personnel carriers positioned along the road near the reactors as well as fires breaking out outside the main power plant facilities.
Another photo shows a large hole in the roof of a building, directly in front of what appears to be Zaporizhzhya’s No. 2 nuclear reactor.
At least 10 workers at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant were injured in the explosion amid fears of disaster.
It comes just days before the visit of the UN atomic watchdog to the besieged area.
The Russian military said it blew up the city of Enerhodar – where most of the factory workers live – shortly after 10pm last night.
City mayor Dmytro Orlov said two residential areas had been shelled, injuring at least 10 people, according to local reports.
Orlov wrote on Telegram: “It is known that about 10 residents of Enerhodar received various shrapnel shrapnel as a result of shelling on residential areas in Enerhodar last night.
“Two of them are in serious condition hospitalized in the intensive care unit.”
The mayor said at least 20 cars parked near the dormitories were also destroyed in the blast.
“Clearly, this is how the Russians ‘map out’ their scenario before the visit of the IAEA mission to Zaporizhzhia,” he said.
“The direct threat to the lives of civilians does not stop terrorists.”
Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the nuclear watchdog had been notified of new shelling at the site over the past three days.
“The latest shelling once again highlights the risk of a potential nuclear accident,” he said at ZNPP, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP), controlled by Russian forces since early March but operated by Ukrainian employees. “
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None of the Russian military facilities in the vicinity were hit.
An inspection team from the United Nations nuclear watchdog is on its way to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant being installed.
Grossi said the team will arrive at the plant later this week.
“We must protect the safety and security of the largest nuclear facility in Ukraine and Europe,” he tweeted.
The site has been occupied by Russian troops and run by Ukrainian workers since the early days of the six-month war.
Concerns that the site could be the scene of a nuclear disaster are growing as both Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of putting the plant in jeopardy.
Ukraine claims Russia is holding the factory hostage, storing weapons inside and launching attacks from there – while Moscow accuses Ukraine of recklessly opening fire on the site.
On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said Russian forces shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – and claimed two projectiles fired by the Ukrainian military exploded near the site. .
“The Kyiv regime continues provocative actions aimed at creating an artificial disaster at the nuclear power plant,” it said.
Both Russia and Ukraine have denied shelling the Zaporizhzhia plant in recent weeks.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said Europe was “one step further” from the radiation disaster when the site was disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid on Thursday.
He said a Chernobyl-style disaster was narrowly averted after Putin’s forces shelled and caused a fire that cut off the plant’s power supply.
Russia is putting not only Ukraine but the whole world at risk of a nuclear accident
Dmytro Kuleba
Many of their radiation concerns centered on the potential loss of cooling systems – and the risk that an attack on the cooling ponds where spent fuel rods are kept could release radioactive material. radiation.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the IAEA’s visit would be its most difficult to date.
“This mission will be the most difficult in the history of the IAEA, given the active combat operations carried out by the Russian Federation on the ground and also the very blatant way in which Russia is trying to legitimize the presence of the Russian Federation. myself,” Kuleba said.
“Russia is putting not only Ukraine but the whole world at risk of a nuclear accident,” he said – and demanded that Putin withdraw his troops from the plant.
“We expect from the mission a clear statement of events that violate all nuclear safety protocols,” he said.
“Russia has to go and the IAEA, like many countries around the world, we have to make them go, simple as that. This is the only way to ensure nuclear security.”
The Kremlin welcomed the UN visit to the site, describing it as “necessary”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Moscow was not talking about the possibility of building a demilitarized zone at the plant, which the US has urged it to do.
When fears of a radioactive disaster arose, iodine tablets were released in the Ukrainian controlled city of Zaporizhzhia – about 27 km from the site.
These pills help block the thyroid’s absorption of radioactive iodine in the event of a nuclear disaster.
Ukraine understands better than any country on Earth the risks associated with nuclear energy.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the north of the country exploded and fell into disintegration during its time under Soviet control in 1986.
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