MOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters) – The situation around the Russian-controlled Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Ukraine has reached a “point of no return” as Ukrainian attacks in the region increase, the head of Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom said on Monday.
Russian managers at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has six reactors, said Ukrainian forces had attacked the facility for a third day in a row.
Russian media quoted Rosatom head Alexey Likhachev as saying: “We are getting closer and closer to the point of no return, and the entire Europe now needs to work to de-escalate the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.”
“This is playing with fire and is dangerous for Eastern European countries above all.”
Likhachev said the plant contains about 2,600 tons of nuclear fuel. The plant does not generate electricity but must be kept running to keep the nuclear fuel cool.
The factory’s management posted on Telegram that the recent drone attack caused no injuries or damage to the factory facilities and that the factory continues to operate normally.
The statement said a permanent monitor from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, had been damaged in an incident on Sunday, when plant management said Ukrainian shelling hit a transport workshop.
In the first weeks after the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Zaporozhye factory was occupied by Russian troops. Both sides often accuse the other of military activities that could undermine nuclear security.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Alex Richardson, Rod Nickel and Ron Popeski)