New Delhi: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has received a request from Ukraine to help keep its nuclear plants safe, the CNN reported.
Ukraine has told the nuclear power authority “to provide immediate assistance in coordinating activities in relation to the safety of the Chornobyl (Chernobyl) NPP and other nuclear facilities”.
Earlier Wednesday, Russia claimed that it had control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the country’s south.
The Russians also wrote to the IAEA, saying officials at the plant continued their “work on providing nuclear safety and monitoring radiation in normal mode of operation. The radiation levels remain normal”.
Video footage Wednesday showed workers and locals had blocked the access road to this plant, one of the largest in Europe. Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest in Ukraine, with six of the country’s 15 nuclear energy reactors.
Thousands of residents and workers on Wednesday barricaded the nuclear plant in Enerhodar where the Zaporizhzhia plant is situated.
Government official Anton Gerashchenko told The Sun that “Ukrainians would fight to the last man to defend one of the country’s main energy sources”.
“The city where the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is located is preparing for a battle with the invaders,” he said.
“The nuclear power plant is guarded by the heroes of the National Guard of Ukraine. They won’t give up! There will be a fight. Shells will fire next to the nuclear power plant.
“They will not be able to break through the concrete shell of the reactor, but they will definitely damage transformers, turbines and other equipment necessary for the safety of the nuclear power plant,” Gerashchenko told The Sun.
Ukraine also informed IAEA that all its nuclear power plants were under the control of the country’s national operator.
The IAEA has also warned that “that any military or other action that could threaten the safety or security of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants must be avoided… operating staff must be able to fulfil their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure.”
Last week, Russian troops had seized control of the Chernobyl power plant, which after the disastrous leak in 1986, is now a repository of nuclear waste.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that a third World War would involve nuclear weapons and be destructive, news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Lavrov said Russia would face a “real danger” if Kyiv acquired nuclear weapons.
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