LAST UPDATE | 6 Jul 2023

UKRAINE HAS SAID that “tension” around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is “decreasing,” but local authorities say they are preparing for the “worst” as fears of sabotage mount.

Kyiv and Moscow accused each other this week of planning an incident at the plant, which fell to Russian forces at the start of their invasion launched in February last year.

Kyiv has said Russia has placed explosives on the plant and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the international community to intervene.

The Ukrainian military today said tensions had “decreased” at the plant thanks to the armed forces and foreign-aided diplomatic efforts.

“Tension is gradually decreasing,” Nataliya Gumenyuk, an army spokeswoman said, adding that this was thanks to the “powerful work” of Kyiv’s military and diplomatic efforts “with our foreign partners, who put pressure” on Russia.

Two goats lie in front of a house damaged by shelling in Zaporizhzhia Alamy Alamy

Fears for the safety of the plant, which is Europe’s largest, have persisted throughout Russia’s invasion.

But in Zaporizhzhia, a city with a pre-war population of around 750,000 people just 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the plant, authorities and residents are readying in case of a radiation leak.

Memories of the Chernobyl disaster – that hit Ukraine in 1986 – still haunt the war-torn country.

“It’s a major threat,” Olena Zhuk, the head of Zaporizhzhia’s regional council told AFP, adding: “people are preparing, the government is preparing”.

Kyiv earlier this week said Moscow was planning “dangerous provocations” at the plant.

At the end of June, city authorities held drills to simulate the mass evacuation of 138,000 people living within 50 kilometres of the plant.

A house destroyed by shelling in Zaporizhzhia Alamy Alamy

That would be “the worst case scenario,” Zhuk said.

Authorities would initiate various responses depending on the “type” of incident at the plant, she said, adding potential fallout could be “local, very local or not local.”

She said she believes Russia might stage an incident if Kyiv’s forces advanced to the area in their counter-offensive.

President Zelenskyy said Russian forces had installed “objects similar to explosives” on the plant, warning his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on the situation.

Moscow has accused Kyiv of planning “sabotage” acts and strikes on the Russian-controlled plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) yesterday called for additional access to the facility to “confirm the absence of mines or explosives at the site.”

Ukraine’s health ministry has issued a statement to follow evacuation orders “in case of an explosion.”

It said residents most exposed to the radiation threat could be informed of evacuation points.

Kyiv has since early June gone on the advance in several parts of the front, including to the east of the power plant.

Moscow has, meanwhile, accused Ukraine of planning “sabotage” acts and strikes on the nuclear power plant.

© AFP 2023