Three drone bombs hit the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on Sunday. At least one of the devices damaged the structure of one of the reactors. It is the worst incident at the plant since November 2022, according to the Russian authorities who illegally occupy it. It was also confirmed by Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “It is a clear violation of the basic principles to protect Europe's largest nuclear power plant. “These irresponsible attacks significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident and must stop immediately,” Grossi warned in a statement.
The IAEA confirmed damage to one of the six reactors: “The damage to unit six has not put nuclear safety at risk, but it is a serious incident that can potentially weaken the integrity of the reactor containment system.” The Zaporizhia power plant has been under the control of invading forces since March 2022. Rosatom, the Russian state atomic energy company, has blamed Ukraine for the attack. The Russian agency TASS added that one of the drones hit the workers' canteen, causing three injuries. The Ria Novosti agency indicated that a few minutes before the attack a visit by a team of IAEA technicians was taking place. This observer mission confirmed that at least one person was injured in the vicinity of a military vehicle.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Moscow's representative at the IAEA, assessed that since November 2022 the Ukrainian Armed Forces had avoided directly bombing the plant. The plant was under intense artillery fire on November 19 and 20, 2022, which caused serious damage to the facilities, according to the IAEA. Then, as now, both sides accused each other of being responsible for the incident. The UN agency, as in this Sunday's attack, ruled out pointing out one of the parties. Moscow accepted in September 2022 a plan for regular visits to the plant by experts from the agency led by Rossi. To this end, the IAEA avoids asking Russia to demilitarize Zaporizhia.
Ukraine denies attack
The intelligence services of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (GUR) responded that the bombing was not the responsibility of its army and that it was a Russian setup. “Russian attacks, including false flag operations, are criminal tactics that the invader frequently resorts to,” said GUR spokesman Andrii Yusov. Yusov also recalled that Russia has deployed weapons at the nuclear plant. It is confirmed that, at least in 2022, Russian artillery was firing from the headquarters against Ukrainian positions on the other bank of the Dnipro River. “Russia must withdraw its troops from the Zaporizhzhia headquarters facilities. Only this will allow Ukraine to regain the application of all international standards and regain control of this nuclear infrastructure,” Yusov said.
The threat to the Zaporizhia plant has increased in intensity since last March. On March 14, a Ukrainian bomb hit the perimeter of the diesel tanks that supply fuel for the electricity generators in case of emergency, according to the Russian administration of the plant. Ukrainian forces did not claim responsibility. More dangerous has been the interruption this April of the electricity supply to the plant due to the invader's bombings against the Ukrainian energy system. Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian state company responsible for the electrical grid, was able to put back into service on April 6, after days of not working, one of the two high-voltage lines that allow the plant to function and, most importantly, not to the reactor cooling system stops. Ukrenergo warned that there have already been eight total interruptions of the electricity supply so far during the war, and that they have been resolved in time to avoid a catastrophe.
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