Nightmare of new Chernobyl in Ukrainewith potential repercussions across a large geographic area of ​​Europe, is now permanently settled on the continent, helped by Thursday’s highly troubling event: a nuclear power plant in Zaporozhyethe largest in Europe, was disconnected from the power grid for several hours under dubious circumstances, which, however, are directly related to military conflicts in the vicinity.

Although the malfunction was fixed yesterday, concern remains as the power outage compromised cooling systems, raising the possibility of a fatal meltdown at the core of the nuclear reactor.

In a video posted online, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed the Russian military for the incident, saying that their shelling caused a fire at a nearby coal plant. In turn, the fire caused a short circuit, as a result of which, according to Kyiv, there was a cut in the supply of electricity to the nuclear power plant.

“Russia has put Ukrainians and all Europeans one step ahead of a catastrophic radioactive leak. With every minute that the Russian presence at the nuclear power plant is extended, the risk of a catastrophe on a global scale increases,” Zelensky said, asking the international community to demand and ensure the immediate withdrawal of the Russian military from the nuclear power plant.

The Moscow version was radically different. Volodymyr Rogov, who was put in command by the Russians in the nearby Russian-held city of Energodar, said Ukrainian military forces set fire to a nearby forest, temporarily cutting off power to the station and several towns. areas.

The Russians took over the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant in March, the first phase of the war that began on February 24, and have retained control of it ever since, although the Ukrainian technicians and workers who manned it continue to do their jobs.

International concern over the accident, experts accuse Moscow of literally playing “Russian roulette”.

The station generates 20% of all electricity consumed in Ukraine, and Kyiv recently said the Russians plan to cut it off from the national power grid and redirect its generation to Crimea and Russia. However, this has not been confirmed at this time.

Yesterday, the state company Energoatom, which manages all four nuclear power plants in Ukraine, reported that the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, after the necessary repairs, was reconnected to the power grid and “produces electricity for the needs of the country.”

IAEA inspectors

Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of shelling that threatens the station, but have agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to enter the station. The agency’s secretary-general, Rafael Grossi, said yesterday that a mission of inspectors is likely to arrive in Zaporozhye next week, as the UN calls for the demilitarization of the zone, which Russia has rejected.

Yesterday, the German Foreign Ministry expressed its concern about the dangerous situation in Zaporozhye, condemning the ongoing Russian occupation of the plant. Experts also voice strong concerns. Paul Bracken, a Yale University professor and nuclear safety expert, said there was an immediate risk of a bombardment melting the reactor core, leading to a Chernobyl-like accident that would kill hundreds or even thousands of people, and accused Moscow of that he is literally playing Russian roulette.

Role of Lukashenka

A new, dangerous event has been added to the nuclear fears generated by the war in Ukraine, this time from Belarus. President Alexander Lukashenko announced yesterday that his country has completed the conversion of its Su-24 fighter jets to carry nuclear-tipped missiles. Belarus itself does not possess nuclear weapons, but maintains very close relations with Russia.

Although it has so far not been directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict, it has allowed Russia to use its territory to invade the northern and northeastern regions of Ukrainian territory.

On the battlefield, the Russians again shelled the Black Sea town of Nikolaev and claimed to have destroyed American howitzer artillery systems west of the town of Marganets in the Dnepropetrovsk region. For their part, the Ukrainians said they had stopped Russian attacks on the Bakhmut and Solentar fronts in the Donetsk region, and Russian-speakers in the region said they received about ten missiles from the US-made HIMARS system in the city. Stakhanov.

Source: REUTERS, AP.