Concerns of the nuclear watchdog mount about the Ukraine plant
After the governor of the Russia-occupied territory ordered the evacuation of a village where most plant workers live amid continued attacks, the chief of the UN’s nuclear watchdog is growing concerned about the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant’s safety.
On Sunday, Russian forces shelled Nikopol, a Ukrainian-held village near the plant, killing a 72-year-old lady and wounding three others.
Ukraine also often attacks the Russian side.
“The general situation in the area near the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous,” International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi warned Saturday before the latest attacks.
“I’m extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant.”
Grossi’s comments were prompted by Friday’s announcement by Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russia-installed governor of partially-occupied Zaporizhzhia province, that he had ordered the evacuation of civilians from 18 settlements, including Enerhodar, next to Europe’s largest power plant.
Balitsky claimed Ukraine has intensified attacks on the communities 50 to 70 kilometers (30 to 40 miles) from the front line of battle between Ukraine and Russia in recent days.
For months, analysts have speculated that Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive may target southern Zaporizhzhia to cut off Russia’s “land corridor” to the Crimean Peninsula and split Russian forces by pressing on to the Azov Sea coast.
Despite Russia’s nine-month siege, Ukrainian forces are still holding a position on Bakhmut’s western outskirts.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed Sunday that Moscow’s forces had secured two more districts in the city’s west and northwest, but gave no details.
On Saturday, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces accused Russia of deploying phosphorous in the city and published a video on Sunday showing the telltale white flames.
White phosphorus and other incendiary weapons can be employed for illumination or smoke screens, but international law prohibits their deployment in civilian areas.
Chemical weapons specialist Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a retired British army colonel, said it was white phosphorous.
He called it a war crime to fire directly at Ukraine positions.
“I expect because the Russians failed to take Bakmut conventionally, they are now using unconventional tactics to burn the Ukrainian soldiers to death or make them flee.”
Russian soldiers haven’t responded, but they’ve denied Ukraine’s phosphorus munitions claims.
In the south, the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, a Russia-occupied coastal city, said on Telegram Sunday that Moscow’s soldiers had increased their movement of tracked vehicles through the city and into the front-line Zaporizhzhia region.
Petro Andryushchenko said more automobiles were crossing the city “every day.”
He shared a short video of large trucks moving armored vehicles on an expressway without stating where or when.
The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed Sunday that the evacuation ordered Friday had begun in Enerhodar, near the nuclear reactor.
The General Staff reported on Facebook that the first residents evacuated were those who became Russian citizens after Moscow captured the town early in the war.
They were moved 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast to the Russia-occupied Azov Sea shore.
Grossi said that operating staff of the nuclear power plant, whose six reactors are all in shutdown mode, hadn’t been evacuated as of Saturday, but most live in Enerhodar and the situation has created “increasingly tense, stressful and challenging conditions for personnel and their families.”
He added that IAEA nuclear site experts “are continuing to hear shelling on a regular basis.”
“We must act now to prevent a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences for the population and environment,” Grossi warned. “Protect this major nuclear facility. I’ll keep pushing for everyone’s dedication to this crucial goal.”
According to a Sunday local administration Telegram post, Russian shelling on Saturday and overnight killed six civilians and wounded four in Ukraine’s southern Kherson area.
On Sunday morning, local Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko reported five civilians wounded in eastern Donetsk, the core of the violence in recent months.
A Kremlin-appointed local official alleged on Telegram early Sunday that Ukrainian drones assaulted Crimea’s major port overnight.
The governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, posted that air defense systems shot down three of 10 Ukrainian drones that targeted the city. Razvozhayev denied damage.