risk of “spray of radioactive substances” at the Zaporizhia power plant

The war in Ukraine is still in full swing, especially around the Zaporijia power plant, raising fears of a nuclear disaster. The authorities also announced on Saturday that there was a risk of “spray of radioactive substances” at the site. The day before, kyiv had announced that it had reconnected the plant to the Ukrainian electricity network and invited the IAEA to send a mission on the spot “as soon as possible”. For their part, the Russians prevented the adoption of a text at the UN on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Radioactive substances sprayed around the Zaporizhia power plant?

There is a risk of “spray of radioactive substances” at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, occupied by Russian troops, the Ukrainian public operator warned on Saturday. According to Energoatom, Russian troops have “several times shelled over the last day” the site. “The plant’s infrastructure has been damaged, and there are risks of hydrogen leakage and spraying of radioactive substances,” the agency said on Telegram, adding that there was “a high risk of fire “.

At the UN, Moscow uses its right of veto

Russia on Friday prevented the adoption of a joint declaration at the end of the four-week UN review conference of the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT), denouncing “political” terms . The 191 signatories to the NPT, which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote complete disarmament and promote cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, have been meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York since August 1. .

But despite a month of negotiations and a final session postponed for several hours on Friday, “the conference is not in a position to reach an agreement”, said its president, the Argentinian Gustavo Zlauvinen, after the intervention of the Russia. While decisions are taken by consensus, the Russian representative, Igor Vishnevetsky, has indeed denounced the lack of “balance” in the draft final text of more than 30 pages.

According to sources close to the negotiations, Russia was particularly opposed to the paragraphs concerning the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, occupied by the Russian military. The latest text on the table, seen by AFP, underlined “great concern” about military activities around Ukrainian power plants, including Zaporizhia, Ukraine’s “loss of control” of these sites and “the significant impact on security”.

kyiv reconnects the Zaporizhia power plant to its electricity grid

The authorities announced on Thursday that the plant, the largest in Europe with its six reactors of 1,000 megawatts each, had been “totally disconnected” from the national grid because of damage to the power lines caused by Russian soldiers. The safety of these installations, located near the front line in the south, has concerned international leaders since they passed into the hands of the Russian military in early March.

Tension has risen further in recent weeks, with Moscow and kyiv blaming each other for strikes on the site, where the Ukrainian military accuses the Russian army of having positioned artillery pieces to shell their positions. “One of the reactors of the Zaporizhia power plant shut down the day before was reconnected to the electricity grid today” at 2:04 p.m., announced the Ukrainian operator Energoatom. It “produces electricity for the needs of Ukraine” and “the increase in (its) power is in progress”.

Energoatom also ensured that the site’s security systems were functioning normally.