According to energy professor Wim Turkenburg of Utrecht University, there are “major concerns” about the nuclear power plant in all sorts of areas. ‘The power supply is flaky and you need it to prevent disasters from happening. Acts of war are going on, so there is a danger of missile impact on the nuclear power plant and radioactive waste storage facilities. And there are mines on the site, which are there because the Russians fear Ukraine will attack the plant.”
attack
Ukrainian President Zelensky said on Thursday that the Russians may be preparing an attack on the nuclear power plant. However, Turkenburg doubts that the Russians really intend to do this. “I don’t think the nuclear power plant itself will be a target because the danger is too great if things go wrong.”
If things go badly, large amounts of radioactivity would be released and could drift towards both Russia and Ukraine. “That wouldn’t be interesting to our people either, so I don’t think it’s likely that the nuclear power plant will be attacked.”
Free zone of combat
Grossi will urge the Russians to establish a combat-free zone around the nuclear power plant, Turkenburg thinks. ‘And for the Russians who are in the power plant with military equipment to leave. There shouldn’t be any acts of war there, so I think he wants assurances about that.”
Rosatom currently manages the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, where about 1500 Ukrainians are left to keep the plant in reasonable condition. “But the working conditions are very bad, and I think that’s also a big concern that he’s going to talk about,” Turkenburg said.
Live Blog | Day 485 of the war in Ukraine