Zaporizhzhia: A disaster in the offing?
Both Ukraine and Russia have been trading blame over who is responsible for the recent attacks at the site of the nuclear facility. Concerns for the safety of the nuclear reactor have sparked growing international alarm and calls for a demilitarised zone around the site
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The Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility in Ukraine’s south has been controlled by Russian forces since shortly after the invasion began on 24 February. AP
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A recent flare-up in fighting around the Russian-controlled nuclear power station – with both sides blaming each other for attacks – has raised the spectre of a disaster worse than in Chernobyl. AFP
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A still image taken of a handout video provided by the Russian Defence Ministry’s press service shows damage at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station (ZNPP) in Enerhodar, southeastern Ukraine, 7 August 2022. The administration of Russian-controlled Enerhodar said that Ukrainian forces “launched a strike using a 220-mm Uragan MLRS rocket” towards the ZNPP and that it had “managed to open up and release fragmentation submunitions”. Twitter/ @janhaverkamp
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Ukraine has accused Russia of storing troops and weapons at the plant and using its grounds to launch strikes against Ukrainian-controlled territory. Here, a handout photo taken from video and released by Russian Defence Ministry Press Service on 7August, 2022, shows a rocket fragment after shelling is seen near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station. AP
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New satellite images, released by Maxar Technologies on 19 August, 2022, however showed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant facility with no significant signs of recent shelling or damage. Twitter/ @Maxar
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The Zaporizhzhia plant is in southern Ukraine, near the town of Enerhodar on the banks of the Dnieper River and is one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world. With the two countries trading blame over who is responsible for attacks on the site in recent weeks, concerns for the safety of the nuclear reactor have sparked growing international alarm and calls for a demilitarized zone around the site. AFP
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On 4 March the nuclear power plant was hit by Russian shelling, sparking a fire and raising fears of a disaster that could affect all of central Europe for decades, like the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown. Concerns faded after Ukrainian authorities announced that the fire had been extinguished, and while there was damage to the reactor compartment, the safety of the unit was not affected. AP
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron called for independent inspections at the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the Kremlin said Friday. Here, smoke rises from the damaged training building of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following Russian shell fire on 4 March. AFP File
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