Russia is to use the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia as an arms depot
Created: 07/17/2022, 11:35 am
By: Tanja Koch
An armed Russian soldier at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is "extremely worried" about the Ukrainian staff due to the conditions there (archive photo).
© IMAGO/Konstantin Mihalchevskiy/SNA
500 soldiers are to besiege the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia.
Control by the International Atomic Energy Agency is therefore currently impossible.
Kyiv - Ukraine's Atomic Energy Agency has accused Russia of using Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia as a weapons cache and shelling the surrounding Nikopol and Dnipro regions from there.
This was stated on Friday (July 15) by the President of the Ukrainian atomic energy agency Energoatom, Petro Kotin, in the online service Telegram.
The situation in the Zaporizhia power plant is “extremely tense”, and the situation is getting worse every day.
"The occupiers are bringing their equipment there, including missile systems, and from there they have already shelled the other side of the Dnipro River and the Nikopol region," the
Moscow Times
quoted Kotin as saying after an interview on Ukrainian television.
On Saturday (July 16), Russian rockets hit residential buildings in the city of Nikopol, killing two people, according to the
Moscow Times
, according to the Governor of the Dnipro region, Valentyn Reznichenko .
The nuclear power plant has been under the control of Russian soldiers since the beginning of March
Currently, 500 Russian soldiers are supposed to control the facility, but it will continue to be operated by Ukrainian personnel.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
It has been occupied by Russian troops since early March, who took control of it a few days after the start of the Ukraine war.
In 2021, the power plant contributed around a fifth to electricity production in Ukraine.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not been able to visit the nuclear power plant since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
At the beginning of July, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi warned that the Russian occupation of the nuclear power plant could pose a risk.
The Ukrainian management and the local nuclear power plant employees are exposed to extreme stress and difficult working conditions.
"Every day that this goes on, the risk of an accident or a security breach increases," said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in a lecture at the Australian National University in Canberra.
Nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia: Ukraine rejects visits by IAEA representatives during Russian occupation
The data connection between the IAEA in Vienna and Zaporizhia, which is used to monitor nuclear material, was repeatedly interrupted during the occupation.
Grossi therefore again demanded access for an IAEA team to the power plant.
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The Ukrainian government is refusing a visit from IAEA representatives as long as the nuclear power plant is occupied by Russian troops.
Such a visit will only be possible once Ukraine regains control of the plant, Energoatom said last week.
Ukraine's nuclear agency argues that a visit by IAEA experts could legitimize Russia's presence.
(tk with afp/dpa)