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A dire nuclear disaster warning has been issued after Europe’s largest power plant was bombed. The huge Russian-owned Zaporizhia facility has six nuclear reactors and is located in Ukraine, on the front lines of the conflict.
Russia blamed Ukraine for Sunday’s attack, which injured three people. Meanwhile, Ukraine denies involvement.
The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemned the explosion, with Director General Rafael Grossi saying the drone attack was “reckless” and “significantly increases the nuclear safety and security risks” facing the plant. Ta.
According to the Telegram, plant officials said there was no critical damage to the plant’s critical infrastructure, including its six reactors, and that radiation levels were normal after the attack.
Russian forces captured the area shortly after launching a full-scale invasion in February 2022, and have occupied it ever since.
Although power generation will cease in 2022, a constant supply of electricity is required to cool the reactor.
This nuclear power plant was originally built by the Soviet Union and features six VVER-1000 pressurized water reactors containing uranium-235.
The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but they still require power and qualified staff to operate critical cooling systems and other safety features.
The power plant, located in the city of Enerkhodar, has been under intense fire since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and captured the facility shortly thereafter.
Both Ukraine and Russia have regularly accused the other of attacking nuclear power plants close to the front lines.
The IAEA has repeatedly expressed serious concerns about the nuclear power plant amid growing concerns about the potential for nuclear catastrophe.
In 2022, the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency published a report addressing the “urgent” need to establish “nuclear safety and security reserves” around power plants.
The agency said the ongoing war could trigger a nuclear disaster not only in Ukraine, which still bears the scars of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, but also “beyond its borders”.
“This is the first time a military conflict has occurred within a large, established nuclear program,” the IAEA said in its report.
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