“The Russian Federation single-handedly decided to block consensus on an outcome document at the conclusion of the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Russia did so to block language that simply recognized serious radiological danger at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine,” the US State Department said in a statement. The statement comes after Russia blocked a deal on Friday on a final draft revision of the UN treaty, seen as a cornerstone of nuclear disarmament, amid criticism of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said Sunday that Russian rocket and artillery strikes hit areas across the Dnieper River from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, as fears persisted that fighting in the area could destroy the plant and cause a radioactivity leak. Russian forces took control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant immediately after the start of the war and hold adjacent lands along the left bank of the great river. Ukraine controls the right bank, including the towns of Nikopol and Marhanets, each about 10 kilometers from the plant. This composite of satellite images taken by Planet Labs PBC shows smoke rising from fires at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine on August 24. (Planet Labs PBC/The Associated Press) Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces shelled the plant twice in the past day and that some shells landed near buildings that store reactor fuel and radioactive waste.
“Normal” radiation levels
The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said on Sunday that radioactivity levels were normal, that two of the Zaporizhzhia plant’s six reactors were operating and that while a full assessment had yet to be made, recent fighting had damaged a water pipeline after repaired. In another apparent attack on Sunday, Russian forces shot down an armed Ukrainian drone targeting one of the Zaporizhzhia plant’s spent fuel storage areas, a local official said. Vladimir Rogov, a regional official based in Russia, said on the Telegram messaging app that the drone crashed into the roof of a building without causing significant damage or injuries. Ukraine’s atomic energy agency Energoatom painted an ominous picture of the threat on Sunday by issuing a radiation map showing that, based on wind forecasts for Monday, a nuclear cloud could spread across southern Ukraine and southwestern Russia. The release of the map may have been intended to warn that if Russian forces were responsible for a radioactive leak, their country would suffer. In the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant accident, the world’s worst nuclear disaster, radiation spread from Ukraine to many neighboring countries. Authorities last week began distributing iodine tablets to residents living near the Zaporizhia plant in case of exposure to radiation, which could cause health problems. Much of the concern centers on the cooling systems for the plant’s nuclear reactors. The systems require power to operate, and the plant was temporarily shut down Thursday because of what officials said was fire damage to a transmission line. A failure of the cooling system could cause a nuclear meltdown. Russian forces seized the nuclear plant complex early in the six-month war, but local Ukrainian workers kept it running. The governments of Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly accused the other of bombing the compound and nearby areas, raising fears of a potential disaster. Ukrainian soldiers climb atop an armored vehicle on a road in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on Sunday. (Leo Correa/The Associated Press) Heavy fire overnight left parts of Nikopoli without electricity, said Valentin Reznichenko, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region. The rockets destroyed about a dozen homes in Marchanets, according to Yeven Yevtushenko, head of the district administration that includes the city of about 45,000 people. Intermittent shelling has destroyed the power plant’s infrastructure, Ukraine’s nuclear power company Energoatom said on Saturday. “There are risks of hydrogen leakage and release of radioactive substances and the risk of fire is high,” it said. The UN atomic energy agency tried to broker an agreement to send a team to inspect and help secure the plant. Officials said preparations for the visit were underway, but it remained unclear when it might take place. The city of Zaporizhzhia, about 40 kilometers above the nuclear plant, also came under fire overnight, injuring two people, city council member Anatoly Kurtev said. The river from the nuclear plant, the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant and the town next to it were hit by Ukrainian missiles three times on Sunday, said Vladimir Leontiev, head of the local administration based in Russia. The factory dam is an important road along the river and a potentially key supply route for Russian forces. The dam also forms a reservoir that supplies water for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Bombing in Donetsk
In eastern Ukraine, where Russian and separatist forces are trying to take control, shelling hit the large and strategically important cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, but no casualties were reported, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region. Workers drain water from a crater created by an explosion that damaged a residential building after a Russian attack in Sloviansk, Ukraine, on Sunday. (Leo Correa/The Associated Press) Much of the Donetsk region is held by Russian and separatist forces. It is one of two Ukrainian regions that Russia has recognized as sovereign states. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed again on Sunday to retake the separatist regions. “The invaders brought degradation and death and they think they are there forever,” Zelensky said Sunday in his nightly video address. “But it’s a temporary thing for them. Ukraine will come back. For sure. Life will come back.”
