2023-07-25 11:13:00
A group of experts from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), belonging to the UN, have discovered directional antipersonnel mines on the outskirts of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (Ukraine), under the control of the Russian army.
Although the Ukrainian authorities they had already denounced the existence of these explosives in the vicinity of the plant, the IAEA had not yet found evidence of their placement.
Anti-personnel mines do not have as their main objective to kill, but rather to incapacitate or injure their victims, especially the civilian population. However, directional fragmentation mines are explosives that kill or maim the victim who activates them and, even, to all those people who are in its lethal radius of action.
The IAEA confirmed that there are mines between the barriers of the internal and external perimeter of the nuclear power plant
IAEA Director, Rafael Grossireported this Monday on the discovery of the mines between the internal and external perimeter barriers of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant, which is a area restricted to workers of the place.
“But having such explosives on site is inconsistent with security standards of the IAEA and the nuclear safety guide, and creates a psychological pressure extra for plant personnel,” Grossi said in a statement.
He also clarified that “the IAEA’s initial assessment, based on its own observations and the plant’s clarifications, is that any detonation of these mines should not affect to the nuclear security and protection systems of the site. The team will continue its investigations at the plant,” he added.
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“As previously reported, the IAEA has been aware of previous mine-laying outside the site perimeter and also in particular locations within. Our team has raised this specific finding with the plant and they have been told it is a military decision, and in a military-controlled area,” the director reported.
nuclear power plant safety
The IAEA team claimed to have heard “several detonations” at some distance from the place during the night of last Saturday. In addition, during the weekend the temporary loss of connection to electrical current Mainly, due to a technical failure during some manoeuvres, something that did not endanger safety.
Regarding the availability of water for cooling of the six nuclear reactors following the destruction of the Kajovka dam in early June, the IAEA has reported that the supply remains stable and enough for “some months”and that the reduction of water is one centimeter per day, both by use and by evaporation.
Due to the risk of a nuclear attack in Zaporizhia, the Ukrainians reserve food, wine and do evacuation drills
On the other hand, Grossi assured that the experts present at the plant they have not found heavy military equipment during their inspections and that they are still demanding access to the roofs of the reactors and the turbine room.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, is under the control of Russian forces from March 4, 2022. Since then, both kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for carrying out hostile actions there.
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