March 12 (Reuters) – The United States on Friday accused Russia of violating nuclear safety principles in Ukraine and called on it to stop targeting nuclear plants in the country, but said it failed to detect the time of signs of radiological rejection.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Twitter that radiation monitoring tools were still working in Ukraine but that Washington was concerned about the lack of data from the Chernobyl and Zaporizhia nuclear power plants, which is the largest in Europe.
These two sites, now controlled by the Russian army, are still managed by Ukrainian personnel but under conditions that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has described as jeopardizing the safety of the plants.
“We remain concerned about Russia’s irresponsible actions and violations of nuclear safety principles,” Granholm said. “We are monitoring reports of damage to a research facility in Kharkov. The short-term security risk is low, but continued Russian fire against nuclear sites must stop.”
Washington is unable to confirm reports that electricity has been restored to Chernobyl, the US Energy Secretary said, as Moscow announced on Thursday that Belarusian specialists had restored power there. . (Report Kanishka Singh in Bangalore; French version Jean Terzian)