Drone strikes hit Europe’s largest nuclear power station, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in occupied Ukraine, on Sunday, significantly increasing the risk of a major nuclear accident, said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Russia immediately blamed Ukraine for the strikes and announced a criminal investigation, but Ukraine denied responsibility and accused Russia of mounting false-flag attacks on the plant in the past.
Grossi, in a
statement on X, said Sunday that the three containment structures at the Zaporizhzhia plant, for the first time, had sustained three direct hits.
“This cannot happen,” Grossi wrote, saying it contravened
five principles he set down in November 2022 to avoid a catastrophe at the plant.
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Previous Zaporizhzhia thread.
Regardless of whose side you are on, no one should be targeting nuclear plants. We do not want radiation to leak. Putin is probably behind this attack in my opinion.
Here is the article's summary, for those who want a quick 30-second read:
The article by Kostiantyn Khudov and Robyn Dixon, published on April 8, 2024, reports on a significant development at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, which is Europe's largest nuclear power station. The plant has been under Russian occupation since February 2022, and there have been repeated shelling and artillery strikes close to the facility. On Sunday, the plant was hit by drone strikes for the first time, increasing the risk of a major nuclear accident, according to Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Grossi stated that three containment structures at the plant had sustained direct hits, which is a clear violation of the five principles he outlined in November 2022 to prevent a catastrophe at the plant. Russia immediately blamed Ukraine for the strikes but denied responsibility, accusing it of mounting false-flag attacks in the past. The IAEA confirmed physical damage to the plant, including one drone hit on a building housing one of the reactors, which could potentially undermine the integrity of the reactor's containment system. However, the agency reported that the drone strikes did not compromise nuclear safety.
Ukraine has accused Russia of turning the plant into a military base for occupying troops and using it as a shield, knowing that Ukrainian forces would be reluctant to strike it. Residents living nearby have been living in fear of a potential radioactive disaster. The IAEA appealed to military decision-makers to abstain from any actions that could violate the basic principles protecting nuclear facilities, emphasizing that no one can benefit or get any military or political advantage from such attacks.
The Russian Investigative Committee announced an investigation into the strikes on the plant, and three employees were reportedly injured. Rosatom, Russia's nuclear agency, described the drone attacks as an unprecedented series of strikes that directly jeopardized the plant's safety. The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that world leaders condemn what it called an "act of nuclear terrorism by the Kyiv regime" and accused the West of feeding Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky.
A Russian-appointed spokeswoman for the plant reported that one drone hit a truck unloading food near its canteen, another struck the cargo port area, and a third hit the dome on the building housing the sixth reactor. The second drone targeting the sixth reactor unit was shot down. The incident highlights the potential risks and dangers of ongoing military conflicts near nuclear facilities, emphasizing the importance of adhering to basic principles that protect such sites.
