Ukraine
Hundreds of children among the evacuees as Ukraine expects to launch a long-awaited counter-offensive
Portal
Russian forces are evacuating residents from the area near the Russian-held Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, with more than 1,600 people, including 660 children, evacuated so far, a Moscow-based official in the region said.
The head of the UN nuclear surveillance agency warned on Saturday that the situation around the power plant had become “potentially dangerous”. Ukraine is expected to soon launch a much-anticipated counteroffensive to retake Russian-held territory, including in the Zaporizhia region
“[The evacuees] have already been accommodated in the temporary reception center for residents of frontline areas of Zaporizhia Oblast in Berdyansk,” said Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed governor of the Russian-controlled part of Zaporizhia Oblast.
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Berdyansk is a southeastern Ukrainian port city on the Azov Sea coast, occupied by Russia since the early days of the Moscow invasion.
In its morning update on Sunday, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russian forces were evacuating local Russian passport holders.
“The first to be evacuated are those who acquired Russian citizenship in the first months of the occupation,” a statement said.
Portal could not independently verify the reports.
Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), called for action to ensure the safe operation of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant while evacuations continue.
“The general situation around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous,” Grossi said on the agency’s website.
“I am extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety risks the facility faces. We must act now to prevent the risk of a serious nuclear accident and the associated consequences for the population and the environment.”
Grossi said while the plant’s operating staff remained on site, conditions for the staff and their families were “increasingly strained”.
Both sides have accused each other of shelling the facility and efforts to create a security zone around them have failed.
Russian forces seized the Zaporizhia plant days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Gunfire was frequent in the vicinity of the plant, with each side blaming the other.
Most recently, Grossi visited the Zaporizhzhia station in March to speak with both sides to reach an agreement on protective measures to ensure the safe operation of the facility.
He has repeatedly warned of the dangers of military operations around the plant.
The plant is in the Russian-controlled part of this region, and many of the employees who operate it live in Enerhodar on the south bank of the Dnieper.
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