Russia Accuses Ukraine of Targeting Vital Facilities Near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant, Calls for Temporary Ceasefire

Moscow, Oct 5 (KUNA) -- Alexei Likhachev, director general of the Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, accused Ukrainian forces of targeting the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant area and facilities belonging to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant over the past two weeks, calling for a temporary ceasefire to allow repairs to damaged transformers. Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Likhachev as saying that Rosatom had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the need to repair the transformers, which are critical facilities for securing the nuclear plant’s external power supply, and noted that work was underway to agree on the standards for the temporary ceasefire required to carry out the repairs. He added that Ukrainian forces had targeted the plant’s laboratory building and the radioactive waste processing building during the night, emphasizing that there was no threat to nuclear safety as a result of the attack. In a related development, Likhachev said that attacks on the city of Enerhodar had destroyed about 70 facilities, including service and social infrastructure and retail outlets, and damaged approximately 50 other facilities. These remarks come as the IAEA announced that its Director General, Rafael Grossi, is in contact with both the Russian and Ukrainian sides to reach a local ceasefire that would enable repairs at the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant. The agency stressed that attacks threatening nuclear safety and security are unacceptable and called on all parties to exercise maximum military restraint near nuclear facilities and associated energy infrastructure. The Zaporizhzhia plant is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and has been under Russian control since March 2022, with an IAEA mission deployed there since September of the same year to monitor nuclear safety and security conditions. (End) D.A.N./T.A.B.