Rosatom CEO Accuses Kiev of Targeting Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant Staff
Quick Look
Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev claims Kiev is intentionally targeting the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to create critical conditions for staff, citing recent casualties and attacks on fuel convoys as evidence of an escalation strategy.
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Why It Matters
The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe and has been a site of repeated shelling during the ongoing conflict. Rosatom is the Russian state nuclear energy corporation.
VIENNA, September 14. /TASS/. By attacking the Zaporozhye nuclear power station, Kiev intends to create unbearable conditions for the staff and put the plant in a critical situation, Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev told reporters.
"This is a common concern -- to ensure the safety of this largest nuclear facility in Europe. We may seem far away, we’re in Vienna. The distance here is about 1,400 kilometers. And even with a moderate wind, God forbid, the radioactive cloud will reach here in just over two days. This is why, of course, this is a common European concern, a task, and our main goal here is to explain what the main risks are in the ongoing escalation and intensification of attacks on the Zaporozhye plant," he said.
He reminded that in recent months, about 100 people have been injured by shelling, and nine plant workers and civilians in Energodar killed.
"Unfortunately, about 20 Energodar residents were killed in these attacks. The chief engineer, Alexander Yakovlevich, was killed. The latest events, when the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck a convoy of refuelers delivering fuel necessary for the safety of the station, I think have put everything in place. Who is doing what, and for what purpose. Almost everyone is acknowledging that this escalation, the desire to put the station and its station and its personnel in a hopeless situation, will not achieve the intended goal," he said.
Open Questions
- What specific evidence supports the claim of intentional targeting of staff?
- How will international regulators respond to these claims?
