Rafael Mariano Grossi, Executive Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he was surprised by the reports of damage and asked an IAEA team of experts to assess the site. We urgently need to be allowed to visit the factory to protect
“We are very concerned about the shelling of Europe's largest nuclear power plant yesterday. It highlights a very real risk," Grossi said. statement on Saturday.
"A military action that endangers the safety and security of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is totally unacceptable and must be avoided at all costs," he added.
Kyiv accuses the Russian military of storing heavy weapons in factories and launching attacks from there. The factory was taken over by him in early March and is still occupied today. Moscow, meanwhile, claims that Ukrainian forces are targeting the complex.
According to Ukraine's state-owned nuclear operator, Energoatom, Friday's shelling damaged power lines and forced one of his reactors to shut down. lost. The radiation situation was normal.
According to Energoatom, attacks on the plant continued on Saturday night, hitting different parts of the complex and injuring a Ukrainian employee. The Russian military and employees of Russia's state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom have been at the scene since the plant was seized and claimed to have taken refuge in a bunker before the barrage began.
The rocket struck the site of the factory's dry storage facility, where 174 containers of spent nuclear fuel were stored, damaging three radiation monitoring detectors and releasing the leaked radioactive material. Energoatom said timely detection and response is "currently impossible." warned.
"Although a nuclear disaster was miraculously avoided this time, miracles do not last forever," he added.
According to the IAEA, the security situation is stable and there are no immediate threats to nuclear safety, but Grossi warned of the dire risks that further fighting at the site poses.
"Military fire directed at or away from a facility amounts to playing with fire and can have devastating consequences," Grossi said.
In his nightly speech on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again accused Russia of shelling plants and using them to cause terror in Europe.
"Unfortunately, the situation around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has deteriorated significantly," said Zelensky. "The Russian terrorist has become the first person in the world to use a nuclear power plant for terrorism. Europe's biggest terrorist."
Zelensky spoke with European Council President Charles Michel on Sunday.
CNN could not confirm allegations of damage at the factory, which occupies a sprawling site.Ukrainian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the shelling.
"Irresponsible violation of nuclear safety regulations"
Top European Union diplomat condemns Russian military activity near Zaporizhia power plant, says IAEA asked to gain access to Complex.
Some Western and Ukrainian officials believe that Russia is now using its massive nuclear facilities as a base to defend its forces and launch attacks.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has accused Moscow of using the factory to protect its own forces, while the UK Ministry of Defense said in a recent security assessment that the complex
Dmitro Orlov, Mayor of Enerkhodar, Ukraine, said in late July that Russian forces had unleashed heavy weapons near the factory. He said he was observed using it. They can damage nuclear power plants.
"The possible consequences of hitting a working nuclear reactor are equivalent to using an atomic bomb," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Twitter.
Grossi called on all parties to "exercise maximum restraint in the vicinity of this important nuclear facility with six reactors.
Ukrainian staff operating factories under the occupation must be able to carry out their important tasks without jeopardizing or threatening not only their own safety, but also the safety of the facility itself," he added.
The IAEA has been trying to coordinate a mission to protect experts visiting the plant since it was seized by Russian forces. It will play an important role in stabilizing the nuclear power plant and helping to stabilize the nuclear power plant . } April and May delivered equipment and conducted radiological assessments at sites held by Russian forces for over a month until they withdrew in late March. }
