The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today called for a halt to all military operations around Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which has been seized by the Russian military, warning that not much could be done in the event of a serious accident. accident there.
“In the event of a nuclear spill, it would be difficult if not impossible to provide humanitarian aid… and that is why the conflicts must stop,” Robert Mardini told a news conference during a visit to Ukraine.
“The scenario could be a massive event and … there is very little anyone could do to limit the dire consequences of that,” he said, when asked about contingency planning for an accident at its largest nuclear power plant. Europe.
The Ukrainian agency responsible for its operation said today that it had shut down one of the two reactors in operation due to Russian bombing. He said the other continues to operate and provide power for the station’s needs.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has announced it is using helicopters to break up a Ukrainian “sabotage group” it says has come close to the station, the Interfax news agency reported.
Conditions in Zaporizhia have worsened in recent weeks, with Moscow and Kyiv exchanging accusations over shelling of the region and fueling fears of a nuclear holocaust.
Mardini welcomed the planned visit by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to inspect the damage, warning that an accident would have devastating and long-lasting effects on millions of people and the environment .
“It is therefore time to stop playing with fire and instead take concrete steps to protect these facilities, and others like them, from military operations,” he said. “The slightest miscalculation could cause a disaster that we will regret for decades.”
Mardini told Reuters the Red Cross was not stockpiling or distributing iodine tablets to people near the station to avoid spreading panic.
“We don’t want to give a signal that this is inevitable,” he said. “It is a risk for which the person who causes it is fully responsible and which should be stopped completely.”
SOURCE: APE-ME
Source: Capital
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