Rehearsal for disaster: Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns of nuclear drills amid fears of seized power plants
- Ukraine’s President has said Moscow is engaging in “nuclear blackmail”.
- Both sides accuse the other of having shelled a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia
- Tensions surrounding the power plant have led to fears of a nuclear disaster like Chernobyl
- Ukraine this week practiced its response to a nuclear attack with a simulation
Volodymyr Zelenskyy last night warned of a possible nuclear catastrophe as Kyiv held exercises near a nuclear power plant seized by Russia.
The Ukrainian president has attacked Moscow over his “nuclear blackmail” at the Zaporizhia train station, the largest in Europe.
Both sides have exchanged allegations, accusing the other of shelling the facility during the six-month war.
Russia seized the site in early March and turned it into a base from which it can strike nearby towns, meaning Ukrainian forces cannot retaliate without risking causing a widespread disaster that would leave fatalities radioactive fallout are released.
Rescuers from Ukraine’s Emergencies Ministry in Zaporizhia during a simulation of a nuclear incident on Wednesday
“This deliberate terror on the part of the attacker can have catastrophic consequences worldwide,” Zelenskyy said.
“The UN must ensure the security of this strategic object, its demilitarization and complete liberation from Russian troops.”
His comments came after talks with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Lviv over increasing Ukraine’s grain exports and ways of ending the war.
Tensions surrounding the power plant have led to fears of another Ukrainian nuclear disaster similar to that at Chernobyl in 1986.
Shortly after the talks, Ukrainian officials warned Russia of a “provocation” at the site on Friday.
The country’s defense intelligence said employees of Russia’s nuclear company Rosatom had left the site, but gave no further details on what a possible incident would look like.
Mr Guterres said: “An agreement is urgently needed to restore Zaporizhia’s purely civilian infrastructure and ensure the security of the area.” Russia dismissed calls for a demilitarized zone but claimed UN inspectors could visit “in the near future”.
Petro Kotin, head of Ukraine’s state atomic energy agency Energoatom, claimed around 500 Russian soldiers and 50 armored vehicles were at the facility, which is still run by Ukrainian engineers.
Moscow dismisses these accusations as entirely fabricated.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ivan Nechaev stressed yesterday that “the Ukrainian military must be forced to stop shelling the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in order to prevent a nuclear catastrophe.”
The Russian Defense Ministry also claimed that Ukraine is planning a “false flag provocation” today.
Workers in gas masks and hazmat suits this week practiced evacuating an injured man and scanning him for radiation during the drills
In a sign of how seriously Ukrainian officials took the threat, a simulation of a nuclear incident took place on Wednesday.
“Nobody could have foreseen that Russian troops would shoot at nuclear reactors with tanks. It’s unbelievable,” said Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky.
After watching an exercise, he said Ukraine should be prepared because “as long as the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is controlled by Russia, there are great risks.”
Responders in gas masks and hazmat suits took part in drills, practicing evacuating a casualty, scanning for radiation and washing contaminated vehicles.
Responders were screened for radiation before being washed and their equipment disposed of.
A report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy shows that no major European power made new commitments for military aid to Ukraine in July.