The IAEA condemned the bombing of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant with heavy artillery.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “Powerful explosions in the area of ​​the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant” on Saturday afternoon and again this Sunday. Russia recorded 14 Ukrainian heavy artillery strikes on Sunday alone, one of which hit the roof of the special building number 2 of the power station.

Rafael Croci, director of the IAEA, said in a televised interview on Sunday that the attacks They are “purely deliberate and selective.” And the situation was considered “extremely serious”.

“A good dozen attacks” targeted the plant, Krosi said, without claiming responsibility for Russian or Ukrainian forces. In a report on the French chain BFM TVSome expressed outrage and urged the authors to “consider the nuclear power plant a legitimate military target”. “Stop this madness”.

And in an IAEA statement, Grassi declared that the attacks “suddenly end a period of relative calm at these facilities and highlight once again the need to use measures to avoid a nuclear accident.”

The IAEA pointed out that it had been verified as a “close and highly localized bombardment”. Largest nuclear power plant in Europe”. He also noted that “a dozen explosions” could be heard and in some cases seen by IAEA experts at the scene.

The plant management has informed the IAEA inspectors There was damage to some buildings, systems and equipment, “but none of them were safety critical.”.

Croci warned that this news “Very disturbing”. “The explosions at the site of this massive nuclear power plant are completely unacceptable. Those responsible must be stopped immediately. As I have said many times, they are playing with fire!” he warned in the statement.

Thus, argued Croci Construction of safety zone around nuclear power plant. This possibility has been discussed in recent months, without success so far. “I’m not going to give up until this becomes a reality. These recent blasts show that this is more necessary than ever,” he stressed.

Fears of a nuclear holocaust have been at the forefront since Russian troops occupied the plant in the early days of the invasion of Ukraine. There is a risk of disaster due to ongoing fighting in the area.

Russia has been attacking Ukraine’s power grid and other critical infrastructure from the air, causing widespread blackouts for millions of Ukrainians amid snowy winter weather in the capital Kyiv and other cities.

“On the morning of November 20, there are Ukrainian troops Shot twice against the border of the nuclear power plant,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov explained, as quoted by Russian news agency Interfax.

“Between 9.15 and 9.45 twelve large artillery shells were fired. Eight of them exploded between the fifth power unit and Special Building No. 2, three exploded between the fourth and fifth power units and one hit the roof of Special Building No. 2,” he added.

“Between 10:00 and 10:10, two projectiles were fired at the power line feeding the plant,” Konashenkov explained.

The spokesperson emphasized that radiation levels in the nuclear power plant area are still normal. In addition, the Russian spokesman recalled that on Saturday, Ukrainian artillery fired eleven large-scale projectiles against the border of the nuclear power plant.

(with information from EP)

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