Is humanity playing with a loaded gun as the mayor of Nagasaki claimed in early August?
For a week, Ukrainians and Russians have been accusing each other of bombing the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
The international community is concerned and the UN Security Council met urgently on Thursday on this subject.
Where is the Zaporizhia power plant located?
What exactly are Ukraine and Russia accusing each other of?
And what are the fears of the major international bodies concerned?
To discover
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Where is the Zaporizhia power plant located?
The nuclear power plant is located in southern Ukraine, on the banks of the artificial lake of Kakhovka on the Dnieper, in an area under Russian control since the beginning of March.
The Zaporizhia power plant is one of five power plants in Ukraine.
With six reactors, it has a net electrical output of around 6000 megawatts (MW) making it the most powerful nuclear power plant in Europe (before the large Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France).
Occupied by the Russians precisely since March 4, the site was bombed on Thursday and several sensors were damaged near a nuclear reactor, said the Ukrainian operator Energoatom.
"
The situation is getting worse, radioactive substances are located nearby and several radiation sensors have been damaged
," the operator wrote on the Telegram network.
The strikes “
damaged the sewage pumping station.
Heavy smoke is emerging nearby
.
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Previously Energoatom and a pro-Russian official mentioned five strikes near a deposit of radioactive substances.
The two sources then reported five other projectiles that fell near a fire station near the plant.
Last week, several bombings also targeted the plant without anyone being able to know with certainty their origin.
Since then, Moscow and kyiv have passed the buck.
What does Russia reproach kyiv for?
Before the UN Security Council, meeting urgently on this subject at the request of Russia, the Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Ukraine, as last week, of being at the origin of these bombardments, by questioning this time also the allies of kyiv.
"
We call on the states supporting the Kiev regime to (...) force it to put an end once and for all to the attacks on the Zaporizhia power plant
", and the UN and the IAEA to tell the Ukrainian authorities that their actions are "
unacceptable
", he said.
“
The true scale of a nuclear disaster at the plant is hard to imagine.
The entire responsibility would rest with Kiev's Western supporters
,” insisted the Russian ambassador, describing
the accusations against Moscow as “
surreal
”, “
cynical and absurd ”.
Last week, during the first bombings, the Kremlin spokesman had already condemned these actions carried out "
by the Ukrainian armed forces
".
These bombardments, "
potentially extremely dangerous [...] could have catastrophic consequences for a vast area, including for European territory
", warned Dmitri Peskov.
What does Ukraine accuse Moscow of?
Conversely, Ukraine accuses Russia of being behind these bombardments against the plant site.
“
The Russians are well known for their elaborate plans of deception, sabotage and concealment, like the one we see today
,” justified Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya.
“
None of us can stop the wind carrying the radiation, but together we can stop a terrorist state.
And the sooner we stop Russia, the sooner Europe and the world will feel safe again
,” he added.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the specter of the Chernobyl disaster earlier this week by calling for new sanctions against Russia, following the strikes against the Russian-occupied power plant.
“
The world should not forget Chernobyl and the fact that Zaporizhia is the biggest power plant in Europe.
The Chernobyl disaster (in 1986) is the explosion of a reactor and the Zaporizhia power plant has six reactors
,” he said Monday evening in his daily video address.
"
We need new sanctions against the terrorist state and against the entire Russian nuclear industry which creates the threat of nuclear catastrophe
", continued Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine's Western allies accuse Russia of "
endangering
" the Ukrainian region around the nuclear power plant.
The G7, whose members support Ukraine, thus demanded on this occasion that "
Russia immediately return to its legitimate sovereign owner, Ukraine, full control of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
".
“
It is the continued control of the plant by Russia that puts the region in danger
”, assures the group in a press release published Thursday by Germany which holds the presidency, without specifying the origin of the bombings.
“
Ukrainian personnel operating the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant must be able to
“, also judged the G7 again.
How are the international bodies reacting?
“
The situation is serious
,” the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told the UN Security Council on Thursday, demanding access to the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant.
"
Time is running
out," insisted Rafael Grossi, as the IAEA has been trying for weeks to send a mission to inspect the plant.
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United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Thursday for the establishment of a demilitarized zone around the plant to allow for an inspection mission.
"
Unfortunately, instead of a de-escalation, even more disturbing incidents have been reported in recent days, incidents which, if continued, could lead to a catastrophe
," Antonio Guterres said in a statement.
“
It must be clear that any damage to Zaporizhia or any other nuclear site in Ukraine, or anywhere else, could have catastrophic consequences not only nearby but for the region and beyond.
This is totally unacceptable
,” he insisted.
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