United Nations (UN) SecretaryGeneral António Guterres arrives in Ukraine this Thursday (18) to inspect the state of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, which has been under the control of Russian forces since March. .
The complex was bombed last week. Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the attack. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), this is the first time there has been a war in a country that has a large and wellestablished nuclear power grid. The agency has previously warned that “there is a very real risk of a nuclear catastrophe”.
1 of 1 photo of a Russian soldier at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Energodar, taken in May 2022 — Photo: Andrey Borodulin/AFP via BBC
Photo of a Russian soldier at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Energodar, taken in May 2022 — Photo: Andrey Borodulin/AFP via BBC
In a worstcase scenario, a potential nuclear accident would be 10 times that of the Chernobyl disaster, although Zaporizhia is safer.
- Zaporizhia: Discover the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which the Russians took over
“Russia could reject this attack, and it would be a game of versions,” explains Vitelio Brustolin, a researcher at Harvard’s law and history of science department. “No one would know for sure who actually attacked.”
The operation of the plant was maintained by Ukrainians, who were handed over by Russian soldiers.