Russian forces earlier this morning fired two rockets near Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, sparking fears a new Chernobyl-like nuclear disaster could be unleashed if fighting continues in the region.
A statement released by Ukraine’s state nuclear agency Energoatom said the cruise missiles flew low over the power plant at 6:41 a.m. and 6:44 a.m., hitting targets in downtown Zaporizhzhia at a short distance.
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (ZNPP) is located in Zaporizhzhia, which contains six nuclear reactors, among other nuclear facilities.
But it was captured in the early days of the Russian invasion and has remained in occupied territory, serving as a military base for Putin’s forces.
“The low-altitude flight of missiles directly over the ZNPP site, where nuclear facilities with a huge amount of nuclear material are located, poses huge risks,” said Energoatom chief Petro Kotin.
“After all, missiles can hit one or more nuclear facilities, and this threatens a nuclear radiation catastrophe that will be felt worldwide.”
The Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration reported that at least one person was killed and one injured in the attack, which “destroyed the infrastructure of a business in the city.”
A third missile was shot down by Ukrainian air defenses and landed in a field on the outskirts of the city.
Six power plant blocks generate 40-42 billion kWh of electricity, which makes Zaporizhzhia NPP the largest nuclear power plant not only in Ukraine but also in Europe
A view shows a damaged administrative building at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant during the Russian invasion of Ukraine on March 4. Russian forces shelled the power plant as they attempted to wrest control of the defenders
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko repeated a warning by Energoatom chief Petro Konin about the dangers of continued rocket attacks and fighting near the nuclear power plant
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks at a news conference on the situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Vienna, Austria, Friday, March 4, 2022. Russian shelling caused a fire at an administrative building near the reactors
Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said of the incident: “This morning two cruise missiles flew low towards the city over the #Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Later, explosions were heard in Zaporizhia.
‘Missiles fly low directly over the plant that has [six] Nuclear reactors and lots of nuclear material is extremely risky,” he posted on Twitter.
Fears of a nuclear catastrophe at the ZNPP were first raised on March 3 when Russian forces attempted to wrest control of the facility from Ukrainian defenders, who shelled the facility.
Video footage of the incident shows a training building a stone’s throw from the nuclear reactors catching fire while factory workers over loudspeakers begged the intruders to stop shelling the site.
Today’s warning of the possible consequences of an armed conflict in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant comes on the 36th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear accident.
On April 26, 1986, a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the north of what was then Soviet Ukraine melted down and exploded.
Huge clouds of radioactive smoke and dust were blown out of the reactor, prompting mass evacuations from the nearby city of Pripyat, where families of the plant’s employees lived, and the creation of an exclusion zone that remains in place to this day.
A total of 28 employees and rescue workers died from radiation poisoning in the days after the blast, as well as two workers who were killed instantly by the blast.
However, studies conducted in the years following the disaster found a significant increase in thyroid cancer cases in the population living near the power plant.
According to a report by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), almost 20,000 cases of thyroid cancer were reported between 1991 and 2015 in children and adolescents who were exposed at the time of the accident.
On April 26, 1986, a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the north of what was then Soviet Ukraine melted down and exploded. Huge clouds of radioactive smoke and dust were blown out of the reactor, prompting mass evacuations from the nearby city of Pripyat, where families of the plant’s employees lived, and the creation of an exclusion zone that remains in place to this day (a steel containment dome is closed). see). over the remains of the reactor)
A total of 28 employees and rescue workers died from radiation poisoning in the days after the blast, as well as two workers who were killed instantly by the blast. However, studies conducted in the years following the disaster found a significant increase in thyroid cancer cases among the population living near the power plant (Chernobyl Exclusion Zone pictured).
Meanwhile, Energoatom said Russian troops, who have occupied the Zaporizhia plant since March 4, are storing heavy equipment and ammunition at the site.
“Thirty-six years after the Chernobyl tragedy, Russia is exposing the whole world to the danger of a repeat nuclear catastrophe!” it said.
Russia did not immediately comment on Energoatom’s statement.
There have previously been security guarantees for Ukraine’s nuclear power plants since it launched a “special military operation” on February 24.
Russian troops also occupied the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant shortly after invading Ukraine, but withdrew in late March as Putin’s troops prepared for a new, targeted offensive in the eastern Donbass region.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), visited Chernobyl on Tuesday.