The world narrowly avoided a radiation disaster, Zelenskiy says

"Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster," said the President

Source: News Agencies

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the world narrowly avoided a radiation disaster as electricity to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was cut for hours due to Russian shelling in the area, the allegations that Moscow denied.

Zelenskiy said Russian shelling on Thursday sparked fires in the ash pits of a nearby coal power station that disconnected the reactor complex, Europe's largest such facility, from the power grid.

"If our station staff had not reacted after the blackout, then we would have already been forced to overcome the consequences of a radiation accident," he said in an evening address, praising the Ukrainian technicians who operate the plant under the gaze of the Russian military.

"Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster," said the president.

Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said it had been the first complete disconnection in the plant s history. Electricity is used for cooling and safety systems.

Nuclear experts have warned of the risk of damage to the plant's spent nuclear fuel pools or its reactors. Cuts in power needed to cool the pools could cause a disastrous meltdown.

The United Nations is wants to access the plant and has called for the area to be demilitarized. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are "very close" to being able to visit Zaporizhzhia, the agency's director general, Raphael Grossi, said on Thursday.

Timely and focused meeting with 🇫🇷 @EmmanuelMacron today on the iminent @IAEAorg visit to #Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant — thank you for your constant support and efforts to make this crucial mission a reality. pic.twitter.com/0GFmICMIsr

— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) August 25, 2022

The concern is that artillery shells or missiles could pierce the walls of the reactor and potentially spread radiation around a large area, said Paul Bracken, a national security expert and professor at the Yale School of Management.

The concern is that artillery shells or missiles could pierce the walls of the reactor and potentially cause the radiation disaster around a large area, said Paul Bracken, a national security expert and professor at the Yale School of Management.

A failure at the Zaporizhzhia plant could "kill hundreds or thousands of people, and damage environmentally a far larger area reaching into Europe," he said.

"Russian Roulette is a good metaphor because the Russians are spinning the chamber of the revolver, threatening to blow out the brains of the reactor all over Europe," Bracken said