The situation around the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe located in the town of Enerhodar is causing increasing concern in society.
The russians located an ammunition depot and military equipment in the territory of the ZNPP and at the same time are continuing to shell the power plant. The systematic shelling of the NPP’s territory by the russians violates virtually all components of nuclear safety including those related to the physical integrity of the nuclear facility, the functioning of safety and security systems of in-house, and external power sources.
Due to the shelling, the NPP’s refrigeration system remains under threat. Its damage is a straight path to a “new Chornobyl”.
On August 5, russian invaders damaged a high-voltage line, communication cables, roof, windows, and walls in the zone of the storage, the emergency protection worked out at one of the power units. On August 11, a hit near the welding station and the storage of radiation sources was recorded, the nitrogen-oxygen generator and the merged subsidiary building were seriously damaged.
The russians use the territory of the NPP not only for the military’s accommodation and a place to rest but also as a military base for the shelling of Ukrainian cities.
The head of radiation, chemical, and biological protection of the russian military lieutenant general kirilov threatens to stop the power plant and put the fifth and the sixth power units of the ZNPP into a “cold reserve”. At the same time, even a minimal error can lead to reactors’ explosion.
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate has warned that a complete shutdown of all power units of the ZNPP can lead to a situation under the “Fukushima scenario” – an accident in Japan that occurred in 2011.
Ukrainian intelligence received new confirmation of information about the provocation’s preparation by the invaders in the territory of the ZNPP. In particular, the occupants ordered the reduction of the number of personnel at the power plant and evacuated employees of “Rosatom”.
The Ukrainian staff of the power plant repeatedly signaled the need for an emergent visit of IAEA inspectors, but the kremlin is blocking the arrival of the mission to eliminate threats to nuclear security by all means. Moreover, the proposals of UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the full demilitarization of the territory around the nuclear plant are being cynically rejected by the Foreign Ministry of the russian federation.
The reasons for the red tape with international access to the power plant are obvious: the russians fear that the world community will become aware of the irresponsible militarization of the ZNPP’s territory, which threatens global security. Since, in the event of an accident at the ZNPP, the radiation cloud not only affect Ukraine but also Poland, Belarus, and the Baltic countries. The highest concentrations of radioactive aerosols can be observed in the near zone from a source of emission of 50-100 km in all directions from the ZNPP. Significant concentrations of radionuclides can reach the capital of Ukraine and Donbas.
Basically, the kremlin has started a new page of terrorism’s history by openly threatening with nuclear catastrophe. For the first time in history, russian invaders turned a civilian nuclear facility into a military target and a place for their army’s accommodation. In this way, the kremlin recognizes that it is not possible to achieve any significant success in military actions against Ukraine without nuclear blackmail.
In violation of the rules of nuclear energy’s peaceful usage, russia continues to exploit the ZNPP as leverage over the West, so that it forces Ukraine to sign a truce with russia on favorable terms for moscow.
Russian military forces are also purposefully destroying the power plant’s infrastructure in order to remove it from Ukraine’s energy system. Such actions of the russian federation will lead to the Ukrainian southern regions’ destruction and complicate the energy supply for the inhabitants.
However, building a state based on nuclear blackmailing of the whole world has no historical prospects, because it only mobilizes even more global efforts to confront this terror. In the world, an anti-russian coalition is formed from at least 42 countries, which called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the Zaporizhia NPP, emphasizing that their presence poses a threat to the safe operation of the power plant.
