'Unprecedented nuclear crisis' at Russian-controlled plant with 148 attacks

28 September 2023 , 10:15

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A Russian soldier guards the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station (Image: AP)

Governments have been warned that there is an "unprecedented nuclear crisis" bubbling at the Zaporizhzhia power plant as close to 150 attacks have happened in the last day.

An alarming dossier compiled by Greenpeace is being sent to Western governments today which has warned that the international regulators are currently incapable of properly monitoring safety at the power station. The rights group believe that the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] is not telling the world the true extent of what is happening. Greenpeace nuclear specialists Shaun Burnie and Jan Vande Putte say because of that, "the IAEA risks normalising what remains a dangerous nuclear crisis, unprecedented in the history of nuclear power, while exaggerating its actual influence on events on the ground."

Ukrainian soldiers fire towards Russian positions on the frontline in Zaporizhzhia region (AP)

The huge Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has six reactors on site and was captured by Russia in early March 2022. It has continually been a focal point of the war. Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of planning to use Europe's biggest nuclear power plant as a weapon. In the past day alone, Russian troops have shelled Zaporizhzhia the region 148 times, injuring a 23-year-old man. Now there are anxieties about a fresh outbreak of fighting at the plant.

The IAEA has too few inspectors and too many restrictions placed on their access to be able to carry out a proper investigation into the risks linked to the biggest nuclear site in Europe, according to the group. Greenpeace said the IAEA has been unable to confirm compliance because of "Russian obstruction" and even accused the global nuclear inspectorate of "taking its commitment to neutrality too far."

In May, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi urged Russian and Ukrainian troops to follow five core principles he set out to avoid "the danger of a catastrophic incident". These included not using the plant as storage or base for weapons or troops that could be used for an attack from the plant and to protect the site "from attacks or acts of sabotage". Now Greenpeace's dossier claims that, several months later, there still hasn't been "significant reporting by the IAEA DG [director general] on the compliance or non-compliance by Russia forces of Ukraine".

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The IAEA has not commented on Greenpeace's report but highlighted that it had had inspectors on site since September 2022 and that without their presence "the world would have no independent source of information about Europe’s largest nuclear power plant."

Rachel Hagan