A senior US State Department official warned Thursday that Russia’s actions at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant increased the risks of a possible release of nuclear radiation.
Russia “has created a serious risk of a nuclear incident, a dangerous release of radiation that could threaten not only Ukraine’s population and environment, but also affect neighboring countries and the entire international community,” Undersecretary of State for Control of Arms and International Security, Bonnie, Jenkins said.
Jenkins reiterated calls for Russia to cease military activities around the plant. She also stressed the importance of the International Atomic Energy Agency being able to visit and inspect the facility.
She did not provide details about that visit, described on Thursday (25) by the head of the agency as “imminent”.
Jenkins told reporters on a conference call that he was unable to confirm reports that the plant had been disconnected from the grid, but said that “we are very concerned about shutting down any of the other plants; We are very concerned about any of the activities that are taking place, particularly as we do not have adequate access to see what is actually happening and what the immediate impact of what is happening there might be.”
On Thursday, the last power line at the plant was disconnected twice, according to Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator. The governor of the occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia said that the power supply to all towns and districts in the Zaporizhzhia region had been restored after previous interruptions.
Jenkins did not say whether there were discussions about how to mitigate a potential nuclear catastrophe at the plant.
“Obviously there’s an acknowledgment of a possible problem there. We are all concerned about a potential nuclear incident and potential radiation that could leak based on Russia’s irresponsible actions. So I would just say that we’re all aware of that, and we’re taking that into account,” she said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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