Inspectors call Ukrainian nuke plant situation ‘not sustainable’
Inspectors from the UN’s nuclear watchdog said Tuesday that it was “gravely concerned” about shelling at Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant — and called for a security protection zone to be established immediately at the Russian-occupied facility.
The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a concerning report Tuesday on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“There is an urgent need for interim measures to prevent a nuclear accident arising from physical damage caused by military means,” it said.
The six-reactor plant, which was captured by Russian forces early in the war, is operated by a skeleton crew of Ukrainians under Russian guard.
Inspectors cited this as a cause for concern on Tuesday.
“Ukrainian staff operating the plant under Russian military occupation are under constant high stress and pressure, especially with the limited staff available,” the IAEA report said. “This is not sustainable and could lead to increased human error with implications for nuclear safety.”
Reports have trickled out of the plant accusing the Russians of torturing workers they suspected of being loyal to Kyiv.
The Russian military has also used the plant as a shield, firing artillery from the grounds of the plant and wagering that Ukrainians won’t fire back.
Inspectors emphasized the need to avoid shelling near the plant, and said the presence of military equipment at the facility “undermined” the plant’s physical security.
Damage to the plant’s cooling systems could trigger a meltdown reminiscent of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, according to experts.
The plant has been cut off from the power grid on at least one occasion due to battle damage, and backup generators have reportedly been hit by incoming fire as well.
Both sides have blamed one another for the attacks.
At a presentation of the report at the UN building in New York, the Russian delegation said it supported a proposal to keep IAEA inspectors at the site indefinitely.
Russian state media, however, quoted the Kremlin’s UN Ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, as saying he doesn’t see the agency’s proposals as “serious.”
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Security Council, Nebenzya said that all threats to the plant were coming from the Ukrainian side, claiming multiple instances of Ukrainian shelling and attempts to retake the plant.
“If provocations by the Kyiv regime continue, there is no guarantee that there won’t be serious consequences,” Nebenzya said. “And the responsibility for that lies fully with Kyiv and its Western backers.”
Jeffrey DeLaurentis, a member of the US delegation to the UN, said Washington supported Ukraine’s call to demilitarize the plant and its surropunding area entirely.
“Despite Russia’s song and dance here today to avoid acknowledging responsibility for its actions, Russia has no right to expose the world to unnecessary risk and the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe,” he said. “This is a situation entirely of Russia’s making.”
“We demand Russia’s immediate withdrawal from Ukraine’s soverign territory,” DeLaurentis said.
“The potential danger here is enormous–it concerns us all,” he added.
Inspectors reported damage to multiple parts of the plant, including the lubrication system for one of the power generating turbines, a building that houses nuclear fuel and the container for the facility’s radiation monitoring system.
The concerning report was released as shelling continued in the eastern Kharkiv region, where three civilians were killed overnight Tuesday.
Among those killed was a 73-year-old woman who was staying at a house on the outskirts of Kharkiv that was destroyed, regional Governor Oleh Synehubov wrote on Telegram.
Two men also died in shelling in the village of Zolochiv, north of the city, he said.
Another rocket attack Tuesday morning struck a five-story residential apartment building near the city center.
“There was an explosion, and our house shook vigorously. Pieces of tiles hit my (grown-up) child’s back and the ceiling collapsed on my head,” Oksana Koshnyaryova said after being rescued from the building.
With Post wires
