According to military experts, Bulgaria will be one of the countries that will be affected in the event of a serious accident at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, a high-ranking Russian diplomat said today, quoted by TASS.
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–In front of Russia-24 TV, the permanent representative of Russia to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, quoted military experts that in the event of a serious accident at this nuclear power plant, there would be a 5,500-kilometer radiation zone, and the Donbass and a large part of Ukraine would be affected. , parts of Russia, as well as Abkhazia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.
Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of shelling the Zaporizhia NPP. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is occupied by Russia.
Mihail Ulyanov expressed his expectation that the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi will present a report on the situation around the Zaporizhia NPP to the UN Security Council.
Earlier today, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, confirmed that the Security Council will hold a meeting on the matter tomorrow.
In order for there to be an IAEA inspection at the Zaporizhia NPP, the Ukrainian army must stop shelling it and not create obstacles, said Mikhail Ulyanov, quoted by BTA.
In his words, so far the Ukrainian side “has not given the slightest reason to believe that Kyiv welcomes such a mission, rather the opposite”.
However, at a special meeting in Vienna of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the European Union condemned Russia’s military actions around the Zaporizhia NPP and called on it to immediately hand over control of the plant to Ukraine, Ukrinform reported.
We also demand that Moscow “refrain from any actions that threaten the security” of the Zaporizhia NPP, the statement added. The EU also noted that IAEA observers should be given free and unrestricted access to the Russian-controlled nuclear plant to verify the safety and reliability of its operation.
IAEA representatives have not been able to visit the Zaporizhia NPP since the beginning of the war more than five months ago, Ukrinform notes. TASS recalls that on June 3, Russia and the IAEA agreed on the route and work schedule of a group of inspectors at the Zaporizhia NPP under the personal leadership of Grossi. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry later said that this inspection was thwarted at the last minute by the Security Department of the UN Secretariat.
The Zaporizhia NPP was captured by the Russian armed forces on March 4, Ukrinform recalls. There are now 500 Russian military personnel at the headquarters.
On August 6, Ukrainian intelligence confirmed that the Russian army had mined the energy units of the Zaporizhia NPP, notes Ukrinform.
Today Ulyanov described as “another lie” and “primitive propaganda” Ukraine’s claims that Russia has mined the power plant and will blow it up if necessary, TASS reported.
Yesterday, the Russian armed forces began installing an air defense system at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, after shelling of the plant raised concerns about its safety, DPA reported.
The power plant’s air defense systems are being strengthened, Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the Moscow-appointed military administration in the Zaporozhye region, told Russian state television.
He stated that Zaporizhzhya NPP is currently operating normally, and the power lines and damaged reactor units have been repaired.
