The statement of the Director General of the IAEA, R. Grossi, regarding the danger at the Zaporizhzhia NPP again attracted the attention of the world community. As noted, during the tour on July 23, the team of the International Atomic Energy Agency discovered several mines in the buffer zone between the barriers of the internal and external perimeters of the NPP site. Experts reported that the anti-personnel landmines are located in an area to which the station personnel do not have access. The occupying management of the nuclear power plant commented on the discovery as a decision of the russian military. It is characteristic that in recent weeks, IAEA experts, who conducted inspections and regular tours of the ZNPP territory, did not see any signs of mining. This confirms the version that the mining took place very recently. At the same time, the experts were unable to gain access to the roofs of the reactors and engine rooms, in particular power units No. 3 and No. 4. It is obvious that the presence of explosive objects on the NPP site does not meet the IAEA safety standards and, in addition to the direct threat of detonation, creates additional psychological pressure on personnel.
The news that the russian occupiers, without any technical need, switched power unit No. 4 of the station to the “hot stop” mode was another alarm bell. Specialists of the State Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority claim that such actions are a gross violation of the regulations and create real risks of a radiation accident, because according to the requirements of the license for the operation of a nuclear installation, the operation of power unit No. 4 of the ZNPP must be carried out exclusively in a state of “cold shutdown”. Such risks are caused by the long-term downtime of power unit No. 4 equipment and the lack of qualified personnel for proper regular maintenance and repair of the equipment. The situation is complicated by the decrease in the water level in the Kakhovka Reservoir, which ceased to be a reliable source of water supply for the NPP after the dam was blown up by the occupiers. Under these conditions, keeping all ZNPP reactors in a state of “cold shutdown” is the optimal mode for reducing the risks of accidental damage to the plant’s equipment. The President of “Energoatom” P.Kotin emphasized that by making a decision to transfer the reactor of power unit No. 4 to a state of “hot shutdown”, the russians are violating all norms of nuclear and radiation safety.
What is behind the actions of the russians at the nuclear power plant?
According to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, russia considers the scenario of a terrorist act at the occupied Zaporizhia NPP as an element of nuclear blackmail. According to the GUR, at the end of July, the russian federation plans to carry out a provocative “assault” on the nuclear plant, in which “assault groups” and “volunteer armed units of Ukraine” will be accused. Currently, the russian fss military counterintelligence department is spreading information among the personnel of the occupation contingent about the alleged preparation of such an “assault” by the Ukrainian Security and Defense Forces. At the same time, according to Ukrainian intelligence, russia is currently preparing another simulated shelling of the station with the aim of further blaming Ukraine for them. Also, since the occupation of the ZNPP by the occupiers on March 4, 2022, russian propaganda has repeatedly spread disinformation about the Ukrainian side’s mining of the plant’s territory, several power units, and a cooling pond. Therefore, the spread of such messages by the russian media and the complete disconnection of the Ukrainian side from monitoring the situation indicates the actual preparation by the occupiers of an operation “under a false flag”, the result of which should be a large-scale accident at the ZNPP. Although the representative of GUR of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine stated that there is no data regarding the kremlin’s adoption of a final decision on a terrorist attack on the ZNPP, such a threat exists as long as the russian occupiers are at this and other important facilities.
What does it threaten?
The intervention of the russian army in the technological process of the operation of power units of the power plant and the mining of the territory of the NPP with anti-personnel mines potentially carry the threat of man-made disaster.
Although, according to experts, even under the worst scenario of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, there will be no such consequences for the population as after Chernobyl or Fukushima, but the risk of radioactive contamination of the surrounding area remains.
❗️russia’s irresponsible actions aimed at violating nuclear safety norms and creating emergency situations at Europe’s largest nuclear facility are an obvious act of nuclear terrorism. President V. Zelenskyy warned russia that the world sees what scenarios the terrorists are preparing for at the Zaporizhia NPP, and is ready to react. The US State Department warned the russian leadership of imminent responsibility if russia risks creating a provocation at a nuclear power plant. Kyiv has repeatedly stated that only the return of the ZNPP to the full control of Ukraine and the IAEA, as well as the creation of a wide demilitarized zone around the plant, can guarantee the safe operation of the nuclear plant.
