Aug 11 (Reuters) – Ukraine and local pro-Russian authorities have accused each other of responsibility for a new bombardment that hit the Zaporizhia nuclear complex in the south of the country on Thursday.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Thursday for an immediate halt to military activities near the power plant, the largest in Europe, which Russia seized in March.
According to Energoatom, Ukraine’s national nuclear power company, the area where the plant is located was struck five times on Thursday. The shots caused no casualties and radiation levels remained normal.
Pro-Russian local officials say this is the second time Ukraine has bombed the site in the space of a day, a situation that would disrupt the rotation of workers at the plant.
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the regional administration installed by Moscow, also wrote on Telegram messaging that at least three strikes had hit an area where a radioactive isotope storage site is located.
Reuters could not independently verify the claims of either party.
The perimeter of the Zaporijjia power plant was already hit by shellfire last weekend and the two parties had already rejected each other’s responsibility.
The plant came under the control of Russian forces at the start of the war, after the February 24 invasion, but it remains operated by its Ukrainian technicians. However, Moscow would intend to cut it off from the rest of Ukraine to supply electricity to Crimea, annexed in 2014.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday asked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send a mission there to assess the situation as soon as possible. (Editing by Reuters, French version Nicolas Delame, edited by Tangi Salaün)
click here for restrictions
©2022 Reuters