Because of the bombing of the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, there is a “very real danger” of a nuclear catastrophe, said the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, on Saturday, August 6. “I am extremely concerned about yesterday’s bombing of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, highlighting the very real risk of a nuclear catastrophe that could threaten public health and the environment in Ukraine and beyond,” Grossi said.

According to him, from the data received from Ukraine, it is concluded that as a result of the bombing, the reactors were not damaged and no radiation release was recorded, but areas on the territory of the nuclear power plant were affected. “Military actions that threaten the safety of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant are completely unacceptable and must be avoided at all costs. Any military fire action directed at or from the facility would amount to playing with fire, with potentially catastrophic consequences,” he said. Grossi, who reiterated the call to Russia and Ukraine to secure admission to the IAEA mission station.

Both sides blame each other for the attacks.

The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant on August 5 was subjected to bombing, in which Russia and Ukraine accused each other. The Ukrainian operator of the nuclear plant, Energoatom, said that the Russian military, with the help of strikes, wants to destroy the plant’s infrastructure and disconnect it from the Ukrainian power system.

“The bombing aims to destroy the station’s infrastructure, damaging all power lines that are used to transmit electricity to Ukraine’s power system, as well as cutting off electricity in the south of the country,” the organization said in a statement. .

The “temporary administration” of Energodar, where the nuclear plant is located, indicated by the Russian side, indicated that the station was attacked by the Ukrainian military.

Both sides reported that the missiles hit the station site near one of the power units where the nuclear reactor is located. Energoatom clarified that the nitrogen-oxygen station and the station’s auxiliary building were seriously damaged. One of the three operating power units at the nuclear plant was shut down after the bombing.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office has launched a pre-trial investigation

Ukraine’s Attorney General’s Office announced on August 6 that it had started pre-trial proceedings under an article on violation of the laws and customs of war.

“According to the investigation, on August 5, 2022, soldiers from the armed formations of the aggressor country, disregarding the norms of international humanitarian law, using rocket and artillery weapons, fired on the territory of a nuclear plant located in the temporarily occupied area. energodar <...> Pre-trial investigation in criminal cases is carried out by investigators from the SBU Department in the Zaporozhye region,” the department said.

Yana Dabizha, manager of the Energodar city council, noted that on Saturday the bombing of the station continued. Energoatom, for its part, admitted that the bombing of nuclear plants would not stop, as Russia seeks to leave Ukraine’s southern regions without power from nuclear plants.