This week, an external radiation monitoring station was destroyed by shelling and fire. It is located near the Zaporizhzhia NPP (ZNPP).
Points of attention
- The destruction of the radiation monitoring station made it less effective to detect and measure radioactive emissions in an emergency.
- Ukraine insists on the withdrawal of Russian occupiers from the ZNPP, as the presence of troops could lead to a potential nuclear disaster.
- The IAEA mission at the occupied ZNPP indicates a violation of the principles of nuclear safety, which poses serious threats not only to Ukraine but also to the whole world.
- The situation at the ZNPP remains tense due to the lack of a demilitarised zone and Russia's refusal to create conditions for the safe operation of the nuclear power plant.
A radiation monitoring station was destroyed near the ZNPP
According to IAEA Director General Mariano Grossi, this further reduced the effectiveness of the ability to detect and measure any radioactive releases during emergencies.
The statement notes that the station was approximately 16 kilometres from the ZNPP.
The IAEA also adds that 4 of the 14 stations that operated before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine are currently functioning.
The latest incident comes just days after a 16-hour power outage in the city of Energodar... led to the temporary shutdown of some radiological environmental monitoring stations after their backup battery died, Grossi said.
The loss of a single radiation monitoring station has no direct impact on safety at the nuclear power plant, but it is part of a continuing relaxation of wartime safety measures that remains a deep source of concern.
The message adds that ZNPP continues to face other challenges related to nuclear safety during wartime.
In particular, last week, IAEA experts heard explosions at a certain distance from the station on most days.
What is the situation at the ZNNP?
The Russian military occupied the ZNPP at the beginning of March 2022 and has been operating under their control since then. The station was utterly disconnected from the power grid several times. From September 2022, the IAEA mission was placed at the station.
Ukraine insists on the withdrawal of the Russian occupiers from the station. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasises that while Russian soldiers are at the ZNPP, "the world remains on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe." Russia refuses to create a demilitarized zone at the ZNPP.
In June 2024, the IAEA stated that all nuclear safety principles were violated at the occupied ZNPP.
