Ukraine nuclear power station shelled, says IAEA

Powerful explosions shook the area of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) yesterday evening and again this morning, abruptly ending a period of relative calm at the facility and further underlining the urgent need for measures to help prevent a nuclear accident there, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

In what appeared to be renewed shelling both close to and at the site of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, IAEA experts at the ZNPP reported to Agency headquarters that more than a dozen blasts were heard within a short period of time in the morning local time. The IAEA team could also see some of the explosions from their windows.

Citing information provided by plant management, the IAEA team said there had been damage to some buildings, systems and equipment at the ZNPP site, but none of them so far critical for nuclear safety and security. There were no reports of casualties. The IAEA experts are in close contact with site management and will continue to assess and report on the situation.

“The news from our team yesterday and this morning is extremely disturbing. Explosions occurred at the site of this major nuclear power plant, which is completely unacceptable. Whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately. As I have said many times before, you’re playing with fire!” Director General Grossi said.

The Director General renewed his urgent appeal to both sides in the conflict to agree and implement a nuclear safety and security zone around the ZNPP as soon as possible. In recent months, he has engaged in intense consultations with Ukraine and Russia about establishing such a zone, but so far without an agreement.

“I’m not giving up until this zone has become a reality. As the ongoing apparent shelling demonstrates, it is needed more than ever,” he said.

This morning, November 20, 2022, due to numerous russian shelling, at least 12 “hits” were recorded at the Zaporizhzhya NPP site.

As a result, overpasses linking the facility to special buildings, storage tanks of demineralized water, steam generator blowdown system, auxiliary systems of one of the two plantwide diesel engines, and other equipment of the power plant infrastructure were damaged. Three hits were also recorded in the area of the Raiduha substation. The damage and destruction there are still being assessed.

The nature and list of the ZNPP damaged equipment show that the attackers aimed at and disabled precisely the infrastructure that was necessary for the start-up of power units 5 and 6 and the restoration of electricity production by the Zaporizhzhya NPP for the needs of Ukraine.

Recently, Energoatom made a decision, and the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine granted permission to bring power units 5 and 6 to a minimum controllable power level to receive steam, which is critically needed in the winter season to ensure the safety of power units, personnel, the population, and the environment.

The russian military tried in every possible way to prevent the Ukrainian staff of the power plant from the power units being started. The fake director of the power plant romanenko from rosatom, relying on the russian military, which seized the ZNPP and uses it as a military base, blocked the preparation of power units for bringing them to the minimum controllable power level.

However, this was not enough for them and today the russian military shelled and damaged the very equipment, the failure of which makes any further actions regarding the start-up of power units of the ZNPP impossible.

The russian military are arranging nuclear blackmail yet again, and their actions are endangering the whole world!

Once again, we appeal to the international community to urgently take measures for the fastest possible demilitarization of the ZNPP, the withdrawal of all russian military from the plant site and the city of Enerhodar as well as the return of the Zaporizhzhya NPP to the full control of Ukraine for the sake of the safety of the whole world!