United Nations inspectors travelled across Ukraine early on Wednesday morning in the direction of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station to ensure the safety of the facility in the middle of a conflict zone and prevent a nuclear tragedy.
To ensure the facility’s safety in the middle of a conflict zone and avert a nuclear disaster, United Nations inspectors travelled across Ukraine early on Wednesday morning toward the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.
However, concerningly, the local authorities, supported by Russia, asserted that Ukrainian soldiers shelled the area around the plant and the nearby town of Enerhodar overnight.
There have been growing concerns about an accident or radiation leak because both sides have accused one another of bombing the surrounding area for weeks. We will be visiting a conflict area.
In reference to the unprecedented expedition for the U.N.’s nuclear inspector, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi stated, “We are going to occupied territory.
He declared, “This is the first time, it’s the first time anybody’s going to cross the front line,” adding that he had gotten “clear promises” from Russia that the mission of 14 experts would be able to work there.
The local government in Enerhodar, which Moscow installed, nonetheless, claimed on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had shelled the plant’s grounds with 60 hits over the previous 24 hours.
This assertion, however, is part of a war of accusations and counterclaims that are incredibly difficult to verify. The plant’s administration facility was targeted by a drone attack during the raids, and it was hurt. The government reported that a second drone struck the training facility at the factory.
No injuries or radioactive leaks, according to the statement. Little was done to allay concerns that the mission’s security would be in danger.
The Russians were accused by Ukraine on Tuesday of bombing the proposed access roads to the facility in an effort to persuade it to take a different path and go via the regions under Russian control.
Since the start of the six-month-old war, the Russian military has been occupying the power plant while Ukrainian employees have been running it.
Anxious eyes around the globe were on the mission’s development. Josep Borrell, in charge of foreign affairs for the European Union, has once again urged Russia to completely demilitarise the area surrounding the power plant.
They are playing around. In the Czech city of Prague, Borrell warned reporters, “They are playing with the security of the nuclear weapons. We are not allowed to conduct war exercises near a location like this.
German Galushchenko, the minister of energy for Ukraine, claimed that Moscow was still acting in an obstructionist manner on Wednesday. He criticised the U.N. mission, saying, “They should check all this because we have information that they are currently attempting to conceal their military presence.”
In an effort to demilitarise the region, Kyiv is looking for international aid. By the end of the year, Galushchenko told The Associated Press, “We believe the mission should be a very crucial step to return (the facility) to Ukrainian government authority.”
The Zaporizhzhia region is located 450 kilometers (280 miles) southeast of the Ukraine’s capital and should be reached by the IAEA inspectors later on Wednesday, assuming everything goes according to plan.
In the absence of a publicly declared cease-fire, the experts might have to cross active combat zones. Due to fire damage, the facility was recently momentarily cut off from the electrical grid, resulting in a blackout in the area and escalating worries of a disaster in a nation still traumatized by the Chernobyl accident.
Ukraine relies on Zaporizhzhia as a primary energy supplier and is still linked to the country’s electrical infrastructure. The risks are so significant that authorities have started giving out anti-radiation iodine tablets to locals, with Ukraine and Russia accusing one another of firing in the area surrounding the nuclear power station.
The expedition, which is anticipated to take several days, was discussed by Grossi during a meeting with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday. The supply of natural gas via a significant pipeline from western Europe was shut off early on Wednesday, a move that Russia’s Gazprom notified beforehand and claimed was necessary for routine maintenance. This event contributed to the early dominance of energy stories on Wednesday.
By Harsha Josephine Antony | On Wed 31 Aug 2022 | 11.16 pm IST |
