Russia must immediately cede control of ZNPP to Ukraine

“The EU condemns Russia’s military activities around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe. This is a serious and irresponsible violation of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international standards. We demand that Russia immediately cede control of the Zaporizhzhia power plant to Ukraine and refrain from any action endangering its safety and security,” reads the statement of the EU delegation made at a meeting of the special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, a correspondent of Ukrinform. reports.

The EU also stresses that IAEA observers must have free and unrestricted access to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to verify the safety and security of its operations.

The IAEA has not been able to visit the Russian-captured facility in southern Ukraine since the outbreak of full-blown war more than five months ago.

As noted, the Russian invaders strike at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. In particular, rockets hit an area near a dry drum storage. In addition, according to data from the Energoatom company, a nitrogen-oxygen station and a combined auxiliary building were damaged as a result of the shelling. There are still risks of hydrogen leakage and spraying of radioactive substances, and the risk of fire is also high. In addition, three radiation monitoring sensors around the ZNPP site were damaged.

On August 6, Ukrainian intelligence confirmed that the Russian military had mined power supplies at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Energoatom Chairman Petro Kotin reported that Russian Rosatom staff delivered special software to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to reconnect it to Crimea. The prerequisite is serious damage to the ZNPP communication lines that connect the plant to the Ukrainian power grid.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was captured by Russian troops on March 4. There are 500 Russian servicemen on the territory of the power plant.

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