The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) judged this Saturday as “increasingly alarming” the information coming from the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, the day after the attacks in the vicinity.
Friday’s attacks are “the latest in a long list of increasingly alarming information,” denounced IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, considering that they demonstrate a “real risk of a nuclear catastrophe that could threaten health and the environment. environment in Ukraine and beyond”. according to a statement.
On Saturday, Ukraine’s atomic energy company Energoatom said the shelling had “severely damaged” a station containing nitrogen and oxygen and an “auxiliary building”.
“There are still risks of leaking hydrogen and radioactive substances, and the risk of fire is also high,” he said.
The belligerents blame each other
Ukraine and Russia blamed each other, with Ukraine citing two Russian attacks and Russia citing Ukrainian artillery fire.
“I condemn any violence committed in or near” the plant and against its staff, Rafael Grossi said. Any “military action that threatens the security” of the plant is “completely unacceptable and must be avoided at all costs,” he urged.
He reiterated his intention to lead an expert mission to the site, so far rejected by Ukraine for fear that this would legitimize the Russian occupation of the site.
Rafael Grossi, however, has not given up:
“I will continue to push and push for this IAEA mission to be carried out,” he said, while admitting he would need “cooperation, understanding and facilitation from Ukraine and Russia.”
He makes sure to provide “unbiased and independent information” at the end of this inspection mission aimed at “essential checks in the plant”.
When the plant was seized in March, the Russian military opened fire on the buildings on the site, posing the risk of a major nuclear accident.
Source: BFM TV
