"Its power will exceed that of Chornobyl": Minister of Environment on potential threat of explosion at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
Diana Krechetova, journalist of Ukrainska Pravda. Life
According to Ukrainian Intelligence, Russians are preparing a provocative attack on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). If the Russian invaders dare to blow up the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, an entire Oblast may become unfit for living.
Source: Ruslan Strilets, Ukraine’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda. Life.
According to him, what is currently happening at the ZNPP "cannot even be compared to what happened in Chornobyl."
"They are attacking with Grad MLRS [multiple launch rocket systems] and endangering not only themselves, but the entire civilised world. It is impossible to even predict the consequences such actions may cause," the Minister emphasises.
See also: 10% of Ukrainian emergency teams are preparing to respond to nuclear and chemical threats
At the same time, the current predictions, in particular those made by the international partners, indicate that the consequences in case of an explosion at the ZNPP will be on a scale equal to 10 Chernobyl disasters. Thus, Ukraine may lose Zaporizhzhia Oblast for many years.
"It will not be [equal to] just one Chernobyl, but 10 Chernobyls in one place, or 3,000 Hiroshima disasters. We may lose the territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in general - both for living and for running any kind of economy. If there is a 30-kilometre exclusion zone in Chernobyl, then in Zaporizhzhia, it will be much larger," Strilets stressed.
On 1 September, the mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived at the Zaporizhzhia NPP in Russian-occupied Enerhodar. On 6 September, the IAEA published a report on the visit to Enerhodar and confirmed that the Russian occupiers are keeping personnel and military equipment on the territory of the ZNPP. The report emphasises the threat of a potential nuclear conflict.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Become our patron, support our work!
