Kyiv/Moscow: The president of Ukraine accused Russia of disconnecting the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia from the grid and putting Ukraine and Europe on the brink of a nuclear disaster. Russia has categorically rejected the accusations against it and has criticized the Ukrainian attacks as the cause of the crisis at the power plant. Due to a fire near the nuclear complex on Thursday, it was disconnected from the national grid for some time. The Ukrainian company and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that the nuclear plant was back in operation on Friday. Experts and analysts claimed that the new mishap at the complex is an indication of a potential disaster.
Russia took control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine in the weeks following the attack on the country in February. The power plant is not just one of the largest nuclear power plants in Ukraine but also in Europe, with a capacity of a staggering 6,000 megawatts. The nuclear complex houses a large stockpile of enriched uranium and nuclear fuel. Currently, only employees of the Ukrainian company are working in the plant. Ukraine launched a counter-offensive against Russian-held areas in southern Ukraine last month. Therefore, the nuclear plant has assumed centre stage again in the past few days.
Russia and Ukraine have consistently blamed each other for the attacks on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Also, Russia had presented its side at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in this regard. After that, the IAEA announced it would visit the power plant. In the next few days, an IAEA team will visit the complex, and an agreement is said to have been reached with Russia for this. Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the IAEA’s visit.
However, there are indications of a major disaster at the Zaporizhzhia plant before the IAEA team’s visit. A fire broke out in the coal fields near the nuclear plant on Thursday. Due to the fire, the nuclear plant had to be disconnected from the national grid. As a result, there was also a risk of the power plant being closed down. If this happens, it would, in turn, generate a threat of nuclear and radioactive elements being released from the plant.
Nevertheless, the problems in the nuclear plant were resolved after some time, and it is said to have resumed operations on Friday. Ukraine has blamed Russia for Thursday’s incident. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alleged that Ukraine, and the whole of Europe, were just one step away from a “nuclear disaster” after the nuclear plant was disconnected from the grid.
President Zelensky claimed that Russia had damaged the power supply lines. The Ukrainian president also underscored that the world must understand this threat well. Russia, however, has denied all the allegations against it. On the contrary, Russia has said that the nuclear plant was being attacked by Ukraine, and the system used for the attacks was destroyed.
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