“The situation is serious”, said Thursday, August 11, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) before the UN Security Council. This morning, it is France, through the voice of the spokesperson for the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs Anne-Claire Legendre, who is calling for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Zaporijjia, in Ukraine. We explain to you why the situation around this plant worries the international community.
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1What is the situation around the plant?
The site of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, held by the Russian army while it is on Ukrainian territory, was again bombed on Thursday August 11. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other. “The situation is getting worse” according to the Ukrainian state nuclear company, who claims that Russian strikes damaged the Zaporizhia power plant.
And this is not the first time that Vladimir Putin has brandished the nuclear threat, especially when he finds himself in difficulty. He did this when the West decided to help Ukraine at the start of the war, by threatening to use atomic weapons. Then with the Chernobyl nuclear power plant when its armored column was blocked in the direction of kyiv. Today, he uses the same fear again when he finds himself in trouble, particularly in the Crimea, or more widely in the south-east of Ukraine.
Talking about the Zaporijjia power plant makes it possible to avoid talking about the rest: the difficulties of the Russian army on the ground, and its deaths in the fighting.
2Why is the situation particularly worrying?
None of pillars of nuclear security are not respected in Zaporizhia, according to the director of the IAEA. The plant is in the hands of the pro-Russians while it belongs to the Ukrainians. It is therefore no longer able to give its radioactivity levels in real time. Most of its sensors are or would be destroyed, according to the Ukrainian state company Energoatom. As for the staff, they have been operating the plant for months under pressure. So all the elements that should normally guarantee nuclear safety are no longer respected, hence the international concern.
Added to this are data that humans are no longer able to control. We know, for example, that strikes fell very close to the plant, but we do not know what impact they may have had on the structure of the site. Could this have caused cracks in the concrete or not? Can this affect nearby high voltage lines? This is why what is happening in Zaporizhia is worrying internationally.
3How can the international community limit the nuclear risk?
The international community has two levers for action. It can put pressure on Russia and Ukraine so that the whole area around the plant is protected and cleared by the Russians. The UN Secretary General called on Thursday, August 11, for the establishment of a demilitarized zone around the plant.
Another tactic: put pressure on Russia so that it accepts the arrival on the spot of independent experts capable of evaluating the real state of the plant.