The United States called on Monday, August 8, Russia to cease all military activity in and around nuclear power plants in Ukraine, including that of Zaporijjia, the largest in Europe and held by the Russian army.
To discover
Follow information on the war in Ukraine with the Figaro application
“
We continue to call on Russia to cease all military operations in and around Ukrainian nuclear power plants and to return control of them to Ukraine
,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean Pierre said during a briefing. briefing aboard Air Force One.
“
Fighting around a nuclear power plant is dangerous
,” she said while pointing out that, according to the data collected, “
fortunately, we have no indication of an abnormal increase in the levels of radioactivity
”.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: Ukraine announces the first arrival of a ship loaded with grain
Mutual accusations
The Zaporizhia power plant, located in southern Ukraine and controlled by Russian forces, has been the target of two bombardments in recent days which have affected some of its facilities.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of these attacks since Friday, without any independent source being able to confirm this.
Read alsoA report by the NGO Amnesty International decried in Ukraine
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that the latest strike, overnight from Saturday to Sunday, damaged a high-voltage line supplying electricity to two Ukrainian regions.
He also reported a "
surge
" in the plant that caused smoke to emanate from a switchgear, an installation to protect and control electrical equipment.
"
The firefighters who arrived on the scene managed to clear the smoke
," the Russian ministry added.
According to the same source, "
the power of reactors 5 and 6 of the nuclear power plant has been reduced to 500 MW in order to prevent the interruption of operations
".
This bombardment "
by the Ukrainian armed forces
" is "
potentially extremely dangerous
" and "
could have catastrophic consequences for a large area, including for European territory
", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
“
demilitarized zone
”
The boss of the Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom, meanwhile, called on Monday for the creation of a "
demilitarized zone
" on the site of the plant.
"
What needs to be done is to get the occupiers out of the territory of the power plant and create a demilitarized zone
," Petro Kotin said in a video posted on Energoatom's Telegram page.
Read alsoUkraine: an occupied region launches preparations for the vote on its attachment to Russia
"
There should be a mission of peacekeepers which would also include experts from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and other security organizations
", he continued, believing that the presence of the Russian army on the spot "
creates the greatest danger for the future, an accident involving radiation or even a nuclear disaster
".
He further accused the IAEA of having had "
a very soft reaction
" since the Russian military seized the site in March.
According to him, the Zaporizhia power station, the largest in Ukraine and Europe, is occupied by “
about 500 soldiers and 50 heavy vehicles, tanks and trucks
”.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday deemed "
more and more alarming
" the information from Zaporijjia, one of whose reactors had to be shut down.
This is not the first time that the situation in the Zaporizhia power plant has raised concerns.
During their assault that led to the capture of the Zaporijjia power plant in March, the Russian military opened fire on administrative buildings on the site, raising fears of a major nuclear accident.
And last month, Russia accused Ukrainian forces of using drones on the territory of this nuclear power plant.
The general secretary of the
