Ukraine: Russians militarize Zaporizhia nuclear power plant Russia is the country with the most sanctions in history – what’s the point of that

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of trying to cause a nuclear catastrophe with missiles flying past nuclear power plants – and the situation at the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant remains worrying.

In a recent letter from the Ukrainian foreign ministry, quoted by the editorial network Germany (RND), it is said that Russia is preventing the rotation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts. “Moscow must immediately allow the rotation of the IAEA experts and ensure that they reach the nuclear power plant safely via the temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine,” the RND said.

Russia is continuing the militarization of the nuclear power plant and is stationing military equipment and soldiers at the site, the State Department said. “If Russia’s criminal activities at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant are not stopped, there could be a catastrophe the likes of which Europe has never seen.”

The takeover of the nuclear power plant was personally ordered by Putin after the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia – since then Ukraine has been demanding that the Russians withdraw and return the nuclear power plant to Ukrainian control.

German Federal Agency for Radiation Protection warns

The German Federal Agency for Radiation Protection (BfS) had only last weekend warned of the danger of a nuclear accident in Ukraine. The greatly increased risk of a nuclear accident with serious consequences will persist as long as the war lasts, BfS president Inge Paulini told dpa news agency. “A year after the start of the offensive war, this danger seems to be fading into the background of public consciousness.”

During the Russian invasion that started on February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia was repeatedly fired upon. Paulini believes that the pursuit of a safety zone around the nuclear power plant is right. The people of Ukraine and far beyond must be protected, the BfS president said. According to the German BfS, however, the consequences of a nuclear accident in Ukraine for Western Europe would be minor.

Mutual accusations come to a head on the anniversary

The Russian Defense Ministry accuses Ukrainian leaders of preparing a nuclear provocation in the war zone – without presenting any evidence. In a statement published on Sunday, the Russian military leadership claimed that Kiev would subsequently blame Moscow for the “gross violation” of nuclear safety. However, the ministry does not explain how this accusation came about and there is no evidence for it.

According to Russian information, next week, on the first anniversary of the offensive war ordered by Putin, Kiev intends to accuse Moscow of indiscriminate bombing of nuclear objects and radioactive pollution of the environment. To this end, some containers of radioactive materials were transported through an unnamed European country, circumventing customs rules. The material must then be used to stage contamination of radioactive hazardous objects.

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(t-online, aj/dpa)