On Wednesday the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded their fact finding investigation of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia.
On Tuesday IAEA’s chief Rafael Grossi told the United Nations Security Council that “something very, very catastrophic could take place” if nothing is immediately done to protect the plant.
Following the IAEA’s report top Ukrainian officials have told citizens who live near to the nuclear power plant to “evacuate” and try and “find a way to get to territories controlled by Kyiv.”
Read more on Russia-Ukraine war:
Enerhodar is the closest city to the facility and Mayor told citizens that yet again the nuclear power plant has lost power due to heavy shelling.
The Mayor wrote on Telegram, “The intervals between attacks are becoming shorter and shorter. It is the second time in a day that the electricity supply has gone off throughout the city.”
He noted that it is not possible to determine when repair crews would be able to get the power back on at the nuclear facility and the town now has no electricity.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk again pleaded with Moscow to allow “a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of the civilian population from the temporarily occupied territory adjacent to the nuclear power plant.”
On Telegram she told people living in the vicinity, “I appeal to the residents of the districts adjacent to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant… Evacuate!
“Find a way to get to territories controlled (by Kyiv).”
She then accused Russia of holding staff and “tens of thousands” of surrounding citizens as being held “hostage” as Russian forces continue to shell the nuclear power plant.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said at a government meeting, “We propose to create an international mission with the participation of the EU, the UN, and other organisations.
“This would facilitate the withdrawal of Russian troops from the plant and the thirty-kilometres around it.”
Leave a Comment