KIEV, Ukraine – The UN nuclear chief has warned of dangerous conditions around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as Russia’s evacuation of civilians near the Zaporozhye station has sparked fears of escalating conflict in the region.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of the six-reactor power plant in southern Ukraine, which has been on the front line since it was captured by Russian forces last year.
Blaming the increased shelling from the Ukrainian side, Russia last week ordered families with children and the elderly to temporarily leave the nearby town of Enerhodar.
“The general situation in the area around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement on Saturday. “I am extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety risks the facility faces.”
While personnel at the nuclear plant remain on site, IAEA experts “have received information that the announced evacuation of residents from the nearby town of Enerhodar – where most of the plant’s employees live – has begun and are closely monitoring the situation for possible implications on nuclear safety and security,” Grossi added.
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The evacuation of Enerhodar is part of a broader evacuation order that extends to 18 other frontline locations in the Zaporizhia region.
Evacuees from the Zaporizhia region walk on a train platform after arriving on an evacuation train at the railway station in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv April 20, 2023, amid Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by YURIY DYACHYSHYN / AFP)
Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, a city in Zaporizhia Oblast, accused Russian forces of moving too quickly with the evacuation, as buses depart every 20 to 30 minutes from Friday.
Posting pictures of the checkpoint between Russian-held Melitopol and annexed Crimea on Telegram, he said on Saturday there had been “a mad panic and no less mad queues.”
“The partial evacuation they have announced is going too fast and there is a possibility that they are preparing for provocations and [for that reason] focus on civilians,” Fedorov wrote on Telegram.
Moscow has blamed Kyiv – and its Western backers – for a series of attacks and acts of sabotage, including against the Kremlin.
Ukraine has been preparing an offensive against Russian forces for months, and some analysts are seeing these recent incidents as a sign that it is now imminent.
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