The International Atomic Energy Agency’s UN nuclear overseer, Rafael Grossi, has expressed deep concern after the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility was targeted on Sunday. Confirming at least three direct blows to the major reactor’s protective structures, Grossi warned that such actions considerably escalate the potential for a severe nuclear incident.
Russian officials inside the plant accused the Ukrainian military of staging the attack with drones, including a hit on the dome of the power unit six. However, Ukraine’s intelligence agency dismissed these allegations, attributing them to Russia’s notorious imitation strikes.
The facility houses six VVER-1000 V-320 water-cooled, water-moderated reactors, designed in the Soviet era, with uranium 235. It also has stored nuclear waste on-site. Presently, reactors 1, 2, 5, and 6 are in a state of cold shutdown, reactor 3 has been turned off for repair, and reactor 4 is in a ‘hot shutdown’, as per the facility’s records.
The plant, being the largest in Europe, saw accusations from Ukrainian armed forces of “attacks on the dome” containing reactor 6. Despite the plant’s close proximity to the battle lines, radiation levels inside and around the facility are reported to be steady.
From both Russia and Ukraine, there have been consistent allegations of the other side attacking the facility, resulting in a potential nuclear crisis. Grossi has repeatedly voiced his severe worries over these ongoing attacks on the plant.
Ukraine’s air force declared on Monday that Russia deployed two dozen strike drones on Ukraine, predominantly targeting the country’s crucial infrastructure in the south and east. During the attack, 17 of the Shahed drones, produced in Iran and utilized by Russia, were taken down over the regions of Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Khmelnytskyi, and Zhytomyr, according to a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Moreover, a Russian Kh-59 guided air missile over the Dnipropetrovsk region was eliminated, and four drones were brought down over the southern region of Odesa, as reported by regional governor, Oleh Kiper.
Meanwhile, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, is due to officially visit China for discussions about the ongoing Ukraine conflict. On the agenda, set for Monday and Tuesday, are bilateral co-operation matters and prominent issues, including the Ukraine crisis and the Asia-Pacific situation, according to Russia’s foreign ministry.