Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was outraged on Thursday after Russian bombing forced to disconnect for several hours Zaporizhia power plant in Ukraine.
“This Can’t Go On”he told the UN agency’s board of directors, in a high-voltage statement.
In his speech, Grossi said: “I am amazed by the complacency. We are the IAEA, we have to worry about nuclear safety.”
Grossi warned of the risks associated with repeated power outages at Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
“One day our luck will run out,” he said.
Emergency diesel generators were installed in the plant, activated to guarantee minimum power to the plant.
The bombing
The Russian attack took place at dawn and hit ten regions of the country: the target was electrical plants and residential places, throwing a toll of at least 9 dead.
Towards the Ukrainian afternoon, power returned to the Zaporizhia plantpaving the way for a cascade of warnings.
The head of European Union (EU) diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said on Thursday that the Russian bombing that forced the plant to shut down for several hours constituted a “serious breach” of nuclear safety.
“It is a serious breach of nuclear safety, committed by Russia,” Borrell told reporters on the sidelines of an EU ministerial meeting in Stockholm.
The power outage forced the plant to be cooled with diesel generators, which “increased the risk of a nuclear accident” until reconnected to the power grid, it added.
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said he was “in contact” with Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko “to support Ukraine’s energy system”.
80 missiles
During the Russian bombardment, which caught sleeping Ukrainians from Kiev to Kharkovmore than 80 missiles were fired.
The shelling was sustained overnight and was the largest in weeks.
The Ukrainian military claims to have managed to shoot down 34 missiles. And he added that Russia has also used eight drones.
In confirmation of the assault, Russia said it used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, a weapon Ukraine says it cannot intercept because the rocket cannot be detected by anti-aircraft defenses.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.