July 1st 2023.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has raised serious concerns regarding the security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. In a statement on Saturday, Zelensky warned that Russia is ‘technically ready’ to launch an attack on the plant, which is the largest of its kind in Europe.
According to the president, he received the information from his intelligence officers, without elaborating on the specifics. He then went on to call on world leaders to pay more attention to the situation and to impose sanctions on Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been under Russian occupation since March of last year, shortly after Moscow's invasion. Russia has denied Kyiv's accusations that they were preparing an explosion at the plant, while Kyiv and Moscow have continually blamed each other for shelling the vast facility.
Last week, authorities conducted renewed nuclear disaster response drills in the area. Yuriy Malashko, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, said the drills were intended to coordinate the response of all services to an ‘emergency situation’ at the plant. Footage showed rescuers in radiation protection gear and gas masks, checking vehicles for radiation levels before they underwent decontamination at specialised washing points.
The situation in Zaporizhzhia serves as a reminder of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster, when a catastrophic explosion and fire at the nuclear power plant caused radioactive material to spread across much of Europe. It serves as a stark reminder of the deadly consequences that can occur when a nuclear facility is compromised.
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