Russia and Ukraine have regularly accused each other of endangering the nuclear power plant.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Tuesday in his evening speech that, according to the Ukrainian intelligence service, Russia has installed explosive-like objects on the roof structures of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
– Maybe to simulate an attack on the facility. Maybe they have another scenario in mind. In any case, the world will see that the only source of danger to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Russia, and no one else, the Ukrainian president said.
According to Zelensky, the West’s slow and muted reaction to the destruction of the Kahovka hydropower plant may encourage Russia to destroy other similar sites as well.
– Radiation is a threat to everyone in the world, and the nuclear power plant must be fully protected from all radiation damage, he added.
The Ukrainian armed forces also previously made claims about Russian explosives. According to the army, objects resembling explosives had been placed on the outer roof of the third and fourth reactors.
Deputy Director of the Radiation Protection Agency Tomi Routamon according to it is always a bad thing if explosives are placed in a nuclear power plant. However, Routamo does not believe that anyone would benefit from damaging the nuclear power plant.
– It is a Ukrainian institution and I believe that Ukraine would be happy to keep it operational. Russia, on the other hand, has taken over the facility, and certainly wants to use it for its own purposes.
According to Ukraine’s assessment, the number of explosives found at the nuclear power plant should not damage the plant’s units. However, Ukraine believes that Russia could paint a picture of Ukraine bombing the power plant by blowing up the stakes.
A possible accident would not reach the proportions of Chernobyl
According to Routamo, causing an actual nuclear accident would require a significant amount of explosives.
– Although nuclear power plants are not actually designed to withstand military attacks, the structures are very strong against various natural threats and internal events.
– There are multiple systems that can be used to ensure safety functions. Nuclear power plants are certainly the most heavily protected of all civil structures.
The last operating reactor units of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant were already shut down in September last year. Because of this, Routamo believes that the effects of a possible nuclear power plant accident would also be reasonably small.
– In the early stages of the war, when the plant units were still running, the effects were estimated to reach a radius of about one hundred kilometers. If more significant doses of radiation and radioactive substances could be released, the effects would probably be in that plant area.
According to Rautomo, it is very unlikely that a possible accident in Zaporizhia would reach the proportions of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident seen in 1986, or would cause immediate danger in Ukraine’s neighboring countries or in Finland.
On Tuesday, Ukraine and Russia accused each other of planning an attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
Ukraine’s government and armed forces said Russia was planning a “provocation” at a Russian-run nuclear power plant.
Advisor to the Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom Renat Karchaa again accused Ukraine of planning an attack on a nuclear power plant at night.