The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
On the past day, October 1, Russian forces carried out a UAV strike on one of the energy substations in the city of Slavutych, Vyshhorod district.
This was stated by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Due to today’s Russian strike on one of our energy substations in Slavutych, a blackout at the facilities of the former Chornobyl nuclear power plant lasted for more than three hours. This includes, in particular, the new shelter that protects the environment from the remnants of the plant’s fourth reactor after the 1986 explosion, as well as from radioactive debris and dust”, – he wrote.
According to him, it is also the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, which contains 80% of all such spent fuel accumulated during the operation of the NPP. These are spent fuel assemblies with a total weight of over 3,250 tons.
“The Russians could not have been unaware that a strike on facilities in Slavutych would have such consequences for Chornobyl. And this was a deliberate strike, in which they used more than 20 drones — according to preliminary assessments, Russian-Iranian ‘Shaheds.’ Some of these drones were shot down, but the strike was organized precisely as a wave of drones in order to complicate the protection of the facility”, – the Head of State reported.
As he noted, at the same time, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been in blackout for the eighth day, which began due to Russian shelling in the area of the plant.
“And the Russians are doing absolutely nothing to fix the situation and to allow Ukrainian specialists to restore external power supply to the ZNPP, which should normally function continuously under regular conditions. Russia is deliberately creating the threat of radiation incidents, taking advantage, unfortunately, of the weak position of the IAEA and its Director Rafael Grossi, as well as the scattered focus of global attention”, – Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked.
In his view, weak and half-hearted decisions will not work to fix the situation.
“Every day of Russia dragging out the war, Russia’s refusals to implement a full and reliable ceasefire, and constant Russian strikes on all our energy facilities — including those on which the safety of nuclear power plants and other nuclear infrastructure depends — represent a global threat”, – the statement said.
Including the ChNPP and ZNPP facilities, there are five nuclear power plants in Ukraine, and each of them may become a target for Russian drones and missiles.
“It is important that European countries, the United States, the G7 and the G20 countries truly act for peace and security to the full extent possible. A strong response and appropriate pressure on Russia are needed to protect lives. I am grateful to everyone in the world who does not remain silent”, – the President emphasized.
