Zelenskyy accuses Russia of shelling nuclear power plants

Created: 03/04/2022 13:59

A bright, flaring object lands on the site of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar.

A fire at Europe's largest nuclear power plant has now been extinguished.

© Uncredited/Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant via AP/dpa

After the Russian invasion, there were repeated warnings of a possible shelling of the Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

Now Europe's largest nuclear power plant has been hit.

Selenskyj speaks of Russian shelling.

KIEV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian tanks of targeting the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.

"This is terror on an unprecedented scale," he said in a speech on Friday.

The history of Europe could have ended with the explosion of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

"The memory of Chernobyl is completely gone among the Russian military," emphasized the 44-year-old.

Russia rejected this and spoke of a "provocation by the Kiev regime".

On Friday night, a fire broke out in a training building on the site of the nuclear power plant in the city of Enerhodar in southern Ukraine.

The fire was extinguished by over 40 firefighters.

There were no injuries.

Memories of Chernobyl

In 1986, the then Soviet Chernobyl nuclear power plant was damaged north of Kyiv.

As a result of the explosion, tens of thousands had to leave the radioactive area around the nuclear ruins.

The restricted area was conquered by Russian troops last week.

At the same time, Zelenskyy called on the citizens of the southern Ukrainian regional capital of Kherson to take to the streets with Ukrainian flags and the national anthem.

"Khersonians, show that this is your city," said the head of state.

The city with 280,000 inhabitants has been under the control of Russian troops for about a day.

No increased radiation measured

According to the Ukrainian authorities, there is no increased radiation.

The responsible supervisory authority announced on Facebook that no changes had been registered.

"Systems that are important for the safety of nuclear power plants are functional." In the nuclear power plant, only the fourth block is currently in operation.

Planned repair work was going on in one block, others were taken off the grid, it said.

According to Russian information, no increased radiation has been measured.

Russian troops have been in control "of the city of Enerhodar, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and the adjacent area" since last Monday, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said in the morning.

The staff in Europe's largest nuclear power plant continue to work normally, said ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, according to the Interfax agency.

Konashenkov accused Kyiv of pursuing its own interests with the reports about the fire: "The purpose of the provocation of the Kiev regime in the nuclear plant is an attempt to accuse Russia of creating a hotbed of radioactive contamination," said Konashenkov.

IAEA calls for negotiations on nuclear safety

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wants to negotiate security guarantees for Ukrainian nuclear plants with Russia and Ukraine in Chernobyl.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi announced his proposal after a fire broke out at the site of Ukraine's Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in the wake of hostilities.

“It is time for us as the IAEA to act.

We have to do something."

The mayor of the nearby town of Enerhodar describes the situation as "extremely tense".

"We recommend staying at home," wrote Dmytro Orlov on the Telegram news channel in the morning.

But it was quiet on the streets, there were no strangers there.

He apparently meant Russian troops.

"During the night, Enerhodar remained without heating during the shelling due to damage to a line." Now ways are being sought to repair the damage, he continued.

In the morning there was no more shelling.

No immediate danger

The Society for Plant and Reactor Safety (GRS) sees no immediate danger of a nuclear accident.

According to the Ukrainian supervisory authority, the site is surrounded or occupied by Russian troops, GRS department head Sebastian Stransky told the German Press Agency.

However, the operating crews would operate in their regular operating mode.

"According to the supervisory authority, the power plant is currently in a safe condition and is operated by the operating team in accordance with the operating regulations," said the Head of International Projects at GRS.

"It is important that the operating personnel can work in peace and are regularly changed in shifts." The training center, in which a fire was reported, is located on the site at a greater distance from the reactor systems.

In addition, shots were fired at an outbuilding of power plant block 1 on Friday night.

It was hit and damaged, according to GRS.

Safety-relevant parts are not affected.

Of the six blocks in the plant, only one, Block 4, is currently connected to the grid.

Its output was probably reduced somewhat due to the current lower electricity demand in Ukraine.

The other shut down blocks would be in shutdown mode.

In this state, the fuel elements would have to be permanently post-cooled.

"The heat is dissipated with the normal systems provided for this purpose." Stransky emphasized that all six blocks are in a safe state from a nuclear point of view.

Expert assessment

Experts are trying to give an initial assessment of the situation after the fire in a building at Ukraine's Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.

“The real problem is not a catastrophic explosion like Chernobyl, but damage to the cooling system.

This is also needed when the reactor is shut down.

It was this type of damage that led to the Fukushima accident," said David Fletcher of the University of Sydney.

Australian nuclear engineer Tony Irwin, however, highlighted differences between the facility and those in Fukushima, Japan, and Chernobyl, Ukraine, where serious nuclear accidents occurred in 2011 and 1986.

Unlike the one in Fukushima, the power plant in Zaporizhia has a separate water circuit for cooling.

There are also special cooling systems for emergencies.

In addition, the plant now affected - unlike the one in Chernobyl - has a special protective layer to prevent the release of radioactivity.

"The reactor is encased in a massive concrete shell that protects it from fire," Irwin said.

Maria Rost Rublee of Monash University in Australia said: “There is significant concern that if any part of the core is affected, a meltdown will occur.

That would be a disaster.”

Targeted attack would be a war crime

According to international law expert Claus Kress, a targeted Russian attack on a Ukrainian nuclear power plant would be classified as a war crime.

"A targeted attack on a civilian nuclear power plant, yes, that would be a war crime," said the Cologne scientist on Deutschlandfunk on Friday.

Such a case would fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

There, Kress advises chief prosecutor Karim Khan, who has launched official investigations into war crimes in Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia.

Ministry of the Environment: "We are monitoring the situation"

After a fire on the site of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant, the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection provide continuous information on the risk situation on their respective websites.

According to information from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a fire broke out in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant after Russian shelling in Ukraine.

The extent of the damage is so far unclear,” the ministry wrote in the morning.

The fire was extinguished by the Ukrainian units of the state rescue service, it said.

All radiological readings at the power plant were "further within the normal range".

The BMUV and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection declared that they would provide information about relevant developments on an ongoing basis.

Germany has had instruments for evaluating a radiological situation, such as the IMIS integrated measurement and information system, for many years.

"Should the BMUV have indications that a radiological emergency with significant effects is occurring in Ukraine, the federal radiological situation center in the BMUV would assess the situation, inform the public and, if necessary, give recommendations for action." Both authorities are still advising "urgently from taking iodine tablets independently".

Self-medication harbors considerable health risks and currently has “no use whatsoever”.

that a radiological emergency with significant effects occurs in Ukraine, the federal radiological situation center in the BMUV would assess the situation, inform the public and, if necessary, give recommendations on how to act iodine tablets off".

Self-medication harbors considerable health risks and currently has “no use whatsoever”.

that a radiological emergency with significant effects occurs in Ukraine, the federal radiological situation center in the BMUV would assess the situation, inform the public and, if necessary, give recommendations on how to act iodine tablets off".

Self-medication harbors considerable health risks and currently has “no use whatsoever”.

more on the subject

Government: Germans should leave Ukraine "urgently".

Russia's conquest of Chernobyl: "One of the most serious threats to Europe"

Ukraine war: Planes avoid Ukrainian airspace

Citizens can find out about the nuclear safety situation both on the website of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection and on the website "jodblockade.de".

dpa