Energodar, the city where the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located in southeastern Ukraine, was bombed on the evening of Tuesday September 6, hours after the publication of an IAEA report calling for a “zone of security” around the site controlled by the Russians. “Right now, there are explosions in the city of Energodar. The provocations continue. There are bombings by the occupiers,” exiled pro-Kyiv mayor Dmytro Orlov said on Telegram.
Those responsible for the Russian occupation in the region accuse the Ukrainian army of these bombardments. Dmytro Orlov for his part called on the inhabitants of this city of 50,000 inhabitants before the war to “stay in their shelters” to protect themselves. The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriï Yermak, affirmed on Twitter that “the Russian provocations in Energodar, around the site of the nuclear power plant, do not work”. “A powerful response must be made to the (Russian) ‘lift sanctions-have gas’ manipulations,” he said.
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the pro-Russian occupation administration in the Zaporizhia region, for his part, rejected these claims, indicating that “a bombardment by the Ukrainian armed forces” had resulted in “a second power cut during the day at Energodar. For her part, the new British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, on Tuesday pledged her “full support” for Ukraine during a call to President Volodymyr Zelensky, shortly after taking office. “In her first call with a counterpart since becoming Prime Minister, she reassured the Ukrainian leader that he had his full support and that Ukraine could count on the UK’s long-term support,” said a spokeswoman.
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Russia has also requested “clarifications” from the IAEA, said Wednesday the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov. “There is a need for further clarification, because the report contains a number of question marks. […] We have requested these clarifications from the Director General of the IAEA,” Lavrov told Russian news agency Interfax.
On Tuesday, the Russian ambassador to the UN had notably deplored that the IAEA did not designate the forces of kyiv as being those which bombed the Zaporijia power station. “We regret that in your report […] the source of these bombings is not directly named”, declared Vassili Nebenzia, considering that this report presented remotely by the head of the IAEA before the Council was a “confirmation” that the “only threat” against the site came from the “bombing and sabotage by the Ukrainian armed forces”.
“The current situation is untenable”
For several weeks, the site of the large nuclear power plant in Zaporijia and the surrounding area, in Energodar, have been bombarded, kyiv and Moscow mutually rejecting responsibility for these strikes. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called in a report published on Tuesday for the establishment of a “safety zone” to prevent a nuclear accident at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, occupied by the Russians .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday welcomed the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mentioning the presence of Russian military equipment in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. “The report mentions the presence of Russian military equipment inside the nuclear power plant, the pressure exerted on our employees there, and clearly alludes to the Russian military occupation. It’s a good thing,” the Ukrainian president said in his daily message.
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“The current situation is untenable,” writes the UN body in this 52-page text. “There is an urgent need to take provisional measures”, she continues, advocating “the establishment of a nuclear security and protection zone”. “The bombardments on the site and in the surrounding area must stop immediately to avoid causing further damage to the installations”, insists the IAEA, saying it is “ready to start consultations”. The Agency also notes “the extremely stressful conditions” in which Ukrainian personnel work, under the control of Russian troops.
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For weeks, confusion has reigned around the Zaporizhia power plant, the largest in Europe, which has been hit by multiple strikes for which kyiv and Moscow accuse each other. After many negotiations, an IAEA delegation was able to visit its site last Thursday. Two inspectors must remain on site permanently. “I hope it will be objective,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said before the report was released. He had criticized the IAEA last week for having concealed the question of the “demilitarization” of the site.