- The attacks are continuing in the south-west central of Ukraine, which was taken over by the Russian army in March, and both sides accuse each other of bombing. In order to avoid a nuclear disaster, the delegation of the International Atomic Energy Organization will go there. They intend to spend a few days there and they want to get a representation that would be stable.
The mission of the International Atomic Energy Organization has been transferred to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant on the morning of 31 August, with the intention of spending several days there. "[Mission] is to assess its actual situation in order to contribute to maximum stabilisation," said Mariano Grossi, Director General of IAEA. The structure of the UN also aims to achieve permanent representation.
In recent weeks the atmosphere in Zaporizhian is getting warmer, increasing the risk of a nuclear accident. Shortly after entering Ukraine, on 4 March, the Russian army endorsed the nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine, whose workers remain in Ukraine. Since then, the vicinity of the plant has been on the battlefield, and both sides accuse the other of the bombings carried out there.
Risk of "nuclear disaster"
Grossi made it clear that "there is a real risk of nuclear catastrophe". In total, six of the 15 reactors in Ukraine are reactors at the Zaporizhia plant. The danger became real on 25 August, due to the complete disconnection of the reactors due to a fire, completely extinguishing the nuclear power plant for the first time in the history of the nuclear installation, which was rekindled the following day. A nuclear power plant was forced to stop the continuous cooling system, increasing the risk of an accident. The company Energoatom also reported on August 27 of the existence of "hydrogen spills and breaks of radioactive substances", causing "high fire risks".
In early August, Russia authorized the IAEA to assist. In fact, on 5 August the bombing began in the area of the power plant and the UN structure continued its request for assistance in order to control it. Since then, they have been organizing the mission, ensuring the safety of those who carry it out.
The largest plant in Europe
With six 1,000 megawatt reactors, the largest power plant in Europe is the Zaporizhia power plant, which has become a battlefield. "The nuclear disaster would not involve a radioactive discharge mechanism similar to Chernobyle reactor 4. (…) However, we can seriously imagine that we had something that happened in Fukushima,” says Bruno Chareyron Criirad, laboratory director of the Independent Commission for Radioactivity Research and Information.
The major accident occurred in 1985 at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine. Currently, in addition to Chernobyle, whose last reactor closed in 2000, and Zapore Jai, the Ukrainian power plants are Rivn and Khmelnitskin.