The G7 group, which brings together the world’s seven most industrialized democracies, accused Moscow on Wednesday (10) of “putting the area around the nuclear power plant at risk”. zaporizhzhia, was occupied by Russian troops and demanded that the plant be returned to Ukraine. Analysts listened to by RFI highlight the risks of a nuclear accident that would exceed the Chernobyl disaster, a threat that the Russian military would be aware of.
On Tuesday night (9), Ukrainian operator Energoatom reported that Russian forces were preparing to establish a link between the two countries. zaporizhzhiaThe largest in Europe to Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. However, according to experts, shifting energy production to the south of Ukraine is a risky operation. zaporizhzhia finds himself in the middle of the crossfire.
The nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been in a strategic position since the beginning of the conflict and has been the subject of mutual accusations between Moscow and Kyiv. Both sides claim that the opposition camp bombed nuclear facilities last week and that there is no independent source to corroborate these claims.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned what he described as “suicide attacks” targeting the nuclear complex at a press conference in Japan. He called for the suspension of military operations around the facility so that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) can gain access to the facility.
Since the beginning of the war, the nuclear power plant has been used as a military base and hideout for Russian troops. “The Ukrainian army will not fire at this facility because of the risks of nuclear accidents,” explains RFI Anastasiya Shapochkina, professor at Science Po Paris. “Recent statements by the Russian Army say that military personnel at the facility are aware of the risks. zaporizhzhia. There are reports of the presence of Russian military vehicles and ammunition stored near the two reactors,” he adds. zaporizhzhia Superior to Chernobyl.
ghost of chernobyl
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky referred to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster to draw international attention to the problem. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister warned that if the bombings caused the plant to explode, it would be ten times worse than Chernobyl; This event has health, ecological and economic consequences according to United Nations data.
“The entire adult population of the Chernobyl accident remembers clearly because of the operations that left many dead and wounded, as many people were mobilized to fight the fire or reduce the consequences of the tragedy. But this is much clearer in Ukraine and Belarus , more than in Russia. affected country”, underlines Shapochkina.
“The maneuvers of the Russian army, which consists of many young people, show that neither they nor their commanders have this memory, because they have excavated in radioactive soils, increased the radioactivity level 10 times, and many of them ended up being hospitalized,” he adds. expert.
The G7 countries accuse Moscow of endangering the entire region and even the international community. “We demand that Russia immediately return full control of the nuclear power plant to Ukraine, which is its legitimate owner. zaporizhzhiaThe group, consisting of Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, made a statement.
The text was published by Germany, which will hold the presidency of the G7 in 2022. He adds that “it is the constant control of the plant by Russia that puts the region at risk.” “Ukrainian authorities operating the nuclear power plant zaporizhzhia They should be able to carry out their duties without being threatened or pressured,” warns G7.
The group said it was “deeply concerned” by the Russian military’s “serious threat” to the “security” of Ukrainian nuclear facilities. The same source says that the occupation by Moscow troops “significantly increased the risk of a nuclear accident or incident” and “endangered the people of Ukraine, neighboring countries and the international community.”
According to Dominique Trinquand, the former head of the French mission at the United Nations, there are several reasons for the Russian goal of connecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to Crimea and supplying all of southern Ukraine. “First of all, Crimea has a strategic importance for Russia, as it is claimed to belong to Russia. Secondly, the offensive of Russian troops in Crimea in Kherson and the Sea of Azov since February 24, when the Russian offensive began. Also, the port of Sevastopol is located in the Black Sea. It is Russia’s main port for access to e-mail,” emphasizes the general.
On Tuesday (9), explosions occurred in an ammunition depot at a military airfield on the Crimean peninsula, killing one person and wounding another. “Today, Russia has a desire to annex the entire region from Donbass to Kherson, using Crimea as a support,” Trinquand said.
Zaporizhzhia’s operation to connect electricity generation to Crimea will require cutting high-voltage lines for a later reconnection. The Ukrainian nuclear agency warns of the danger of such an operation, as the Russians will have to temporarily connect the plant to diesel generators.
IAEA seeks access to Zaporizhzhithis
Based on information provided by Ukraine, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that the recent bombings near Zaporijia “do not pose an immediate threat to nuclear security,” according to the agency’s director-general, Rafael Grossi.
Two rocket attacks – one launched from a forested area and the other from an urban area – late last weekend caused explosions near cooling pools of radioactive material. The main concern of experts, in addition to the risk of fire, is the evaporation of water in swimming pools.
In an updated statement Wednesday, Grossi reiterated that an IAEA expert panel should visit the facility as soon as possible. The IAEA has been unable to inspect facilities more than five months ago, since the conflict began.
(*With information from RFI and AFP)
source: Noticias
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