Ukraine’s state nuclear power company, Energoatom, said Sunday that a worker was injured when Russian forces again shelled the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, on Saturday night.
Energoatom said on the messaging app Telegram, the site of the plant’s dry storage, which holds 174 outdoor containers of spent nuclear fuel, was hit by rockets.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) raised serious concerns on Saturday about the previous day’s shelling of Zaporizhzhia, saying the action showed the risk of a nuclear disaster. core.
The Zaporizhzhia plant was captured by Russian troops in the early stages of the war but is still run by Ukrainian technicians.
The projectiles hit a high-voltage power line on Friday at the nuclear facility, prompting its operators to disconnect a reactor even though no radioactive leaks were detected.
Both sides accused each other on Saturday of engaging in “nuclear terrorism”. Energoatom blamed Russia for the damage while the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the factory.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a stronger international response to what he described as Russia’s “nuclear terrorism”.
In a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel, Zelenskyy called for the imposition of sanctions on Russia’s nuclear and nuclear fuel industry, the Ukrainian leader wrote on Twitter.
More ships cleared for departure
In another development, four more agricultural cargo ships detained during the war received permits on Sunday to leave Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, under a grain export deal that has been stuck since Russia’s invasion. Ukraine almost six months ago.
The international agreement watchdog intends to get about 18 million tonnes of grain out of Ukraine and feed the poor in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, said cargo ships expected. will leave Chornomorsk and Odesa on Monday.
Supervisors say the ships will carry more than 155,000 tonnes of corn combined. One aircraft carrier is due to go to Istanbul, another is headed to Nantong in China and a third is due to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Iskenderun.
The fourth ship to be cleared is carrying more than 5,900 tons of sunflower oil to Monopoli, Italy.
