“IAEA personnel must be able to access all of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities in a timely, safe and unrestricted manner”requires the G7, while the International Atomic Energy Agency announced this morning to send a team on site.
Article written by
Posted
Update
Reading time : 1 min.
“We emphasize that any attempt by Russia to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian power grid would be unacceptable.” The G7 countries, “deeply concerned” by the risks of nuclear accident in the Ukrainian power plant of Zaporijjia, occupied since March by the Russian army, demanded, on Monday August 29, the guarantee of access “freely” personnel of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at this plant. In a statement, the G7 Directors Group on Non-Proliferation stresses that the nuclear power plant should not “not to be used for military activities or the storage of military equipment”.
The G7 “remains deeply concerned about the serious threat that the control of Ukrainian nuclear facilities by the Russian armed forces poses to the safety and security of these facilities”according to the statement. “These actions significantly increase the risk of a nuclear accident or incident and endanger the people of Ukraine, neighboring states and the international community,” warns the G7, chaired this year by Germany.
“IAEA personnel must be able to access all of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities in a timely, safe and unrestricted manner”demands the G7.
The Director General of the IAEA announced Monday morning the departure of a team from the agency to the Zaporijjia power plant. The plant, where six of Ukraine’s 15 reactors are located, was taken by Russian troops in early March, shortly after the invasion began on February 24, and is near the front line in the south. While kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of carrying out bombings near the complex and thus endangering the site, the Ukrainian operator Energoatom warned on Saturday of the risk of radioactive leaks and fire after new strikes.
Between Thursday and Friday, the plant and its six reactors of 1,000 megawatts each were “totally disconnected” from the national grid due to damage to the power lines, according to kyiv, before being reconnected and restarted.
While the fate of this crystallist nuclear power plant worries Westerners, the UN has also called for a cessation of all military activity in the area.