The agency chief said on Monday a team from the UN nuclear watchdog was on its way to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, fueling fears of a radiation disaster by Russia and Ukraine sharing blame for the bombing nearby.
Captured by Russian troops in March but led by Ukrainian officials, Zaporizhzhia marked a turning point in a conflict that escalated into a war of attrition fought mostly in eastern and southern Ukraine six months after Russia launched its invasion.
“We need to protect the security of the largest nuclear facility in Ukraine and Europe,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a Twitter post. Said.
Grossi said an IAEA inspector team led by him will arrive at the facility on the Dnipro River near the frontline in southern Ukraine this week, without specifying the day of arrival.
The IAEA also tweeted that the mission will assess physical damage, the conditions in which workers work in the field, and “determine the functionality of safety and security systems.” It will also “carry out emergency protection activities”, referring to the monitoring of nuclear material.
The Kremlin said on Monday the IAEA mission was “necessary” and urged the international community to pressure Ukraine to de-escalate military tensions at the facility.
The United Nations, the United States and Ukraine have called for the removal of military equipment and personnel so that the nuclear complex, the largest in Europe, is not targeted. However, the Kremlin once again refused to withdraw its forces from the region.
Fearing a nuclear accident in a country still untouched by the 1986 Chornobyl disaster, authorities in Zaporizhzhia are distributing iodine pills and teaching residents how to use them in the event of a radiation leak.
The chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on his Telegram channel Sunday night, along with a video showing firefighters setting fire to burning cars, Russian forces opened fire on Enerhodar, the town near Dnipro, where the power plant is located.
“They are trying to provoke and blackmail the world,” said Andriy Yermak.
Liliia Vaulina, 22, who is among the growing numbers of refugees from Enerhodar arriving in the Ukrainian town of Zaporizhzhia, about 50 kilometers upstream from the plant, said she hopes the IAEA mission will lead to the demilitarization of the region.
“I think they will stop the bombing,” he told Reuters.
source: Noticias
