After shelling of nuclear power plant in Ukraine: IAEA warns against “playing with fire”

After the shelling of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the International Atomic Energy Agency is pushing for access to the plant occupied by Russia – and is warning of a nuclear catastrophe.

Shelling at Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant during fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops has put the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on alert. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi warned of the risk of a nuclear catastrophe that could threaten public health and the environment in Ukraine and beyond.

He was extremely concerned about Friday’s events. “Any military firepower aimed at or emanating from the facility would be playing with fire, with potentially catastrophic consequences,” Grossi said. A threat to the security of Zaporizhia must be avoided “at all costs”.

Reactor shut down after attacks

On Friday, the operator of the Energoatom power plant took one of the six reactors off the grid after an artillery fire damaged a high-voltage line that is important for the operation. Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for the shelling and accused each other of risking a nuclear disaster.

According to Energoatom, no radioactivity escaped, but there is still an increased risk of fire and radiation. A nitrogen system and an auxiliary body of the power plant were damaged by the shelling the day before. “There is still a risk of hydrogen escaping and radioactive particles spreading, and the risk of fire is also high.”

Energoatom and the IAEA, which reports to the United Nations (UN), have repeatedly complained that the operational safety of Zaporizhia has been impaired by military action. The IAEA’s access to remote monitoring systems had been interrupted several times.

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was occupied by the Russian army in March, but is still operated by the Ukrainian state-owned company Energoatom and its workforce.

For weeks there has been criticism that the Russian troops are using the nuclear power plant as a protective shield for their own artillery, which is shelling Ukrainian-controlled areas from there. “The EU condemns Russia’s military activities around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. This is a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard of international norms,” ​​said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. He demanded access for the International Atomic Energy Agency to the facility.

Great Britain: war before new phase

Barely six months after the start of the war in Ukraine, British military intelligence estimates that it is about to enter a new phase. Most of the fighting therefore shifted from the Donbass to an almost 350-kilometer-long front that stretches parallel to the Dnieper River in the south-west. The line of battle would then run from the area around Zaporizhia to Cherson. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense in London on Twitter, citing the latest intelligence report.

According to the findings, Russian forces gathered in southern Ukraine. There they expected a Ukrainian counter-offensive or were preparing a possible attack of their own.

According to British information, the Ukrainian armed forces are concentrating their attacks on bridges, ammunition depots and railway connections in the south. Among them is the strategically important railway connection that connects Cherson with Crimea. The Ukrainian attacks are coming at ever shorter intervals.

Ukraine: Russian advances repelled in Donetsk

Ukraine, meanwhile, said Russian troops used tanks and artillery to attack the village of Bakhmut, a cornerstone of the defense system around the last Ukrainian-held conurbation in Donbass.

The headquarters of the Ukrainian troops in the east is in the area between Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, where a good half a million people lived before the war. This area is secured from the east by the Siwersk – Soledar – Bakhmut line of fortifications. This is now faltering in several places.

On Saturday, the Russian offensives in the direction of the cities of Sloviansk, Bakhmut and Avdiivka were repelled, the Ukrainian general staff said. Fierce fighting has been raging around Bakhmut in particular for days. The day before, the pro-Russian rebels had reported that fighting was already taking place within the city limits. The information provided by both sides cannot be checked independently.

Ukraine attacks in the south

In the south of the country, on the other hand, Ukrainian troops are apparently advancing. There, the Russian units concentrated on defending their positions in the occupied territories, according to the situation report.

The Southern Command of the Ukrainian military previously reported that it had destroyed at least six Russian arms and ammunition depots and two command posts in the Kherson region. This information cannot be verified independently either.