A terrifying nuclear disaster warning has been issued after the largest power plant in Europe was bombed. The giant Russian-held Zaporizhzhia facility, which holds six reactors, is in Ukraine, right on the frontline of the conflict.
Russia has blamed Ukraine for Sunday’s attack that left three people injured. Meanwhile, Ukraine has denied involvement.
The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has slammed the blast, with head Rafael Grossi saying the drone strike was “reckless” and “a major escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers” facing the plant.
There was no critical damage to the plant’s critical infrastructure including its six reactors, and radiation levels were normal after the attack, according to the plant’s officials on Telegram.
Russian forces seized it shortly after launching their February 2022 full-scale invasion and have occupied it ever since.
It stopped generating power in 2022, but needs a constant electricity supply in order for the reactors to cool.
The nuclear plant, originally built by the Soviet Union, has six VVER-1000 pressurized water reactors containing uranium-235.
The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.
The power plant – located in the city of Enerhodar- has been caught in the crossfire since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and seized the facility shortly after.
Both Ukraine and Russia have regularly accused the other of attacking the plant, which remains close to the front lines.
The IAEA has repeatedly expressed grave concerns about the plant amid mounting fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe.
In 2022, the UN nuclear agency released a report that addresses an “urgent” need to establish a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around the power plant.
The agency said the ongoing war could trigger a nuclear disaster not just for Ukraine still scarred by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, but for the country “beyond its borders.”
“It is the first time a military conflict has occurred amid the facilities of a large, established nuclear power” program, the IAEA said in the report.
