China News Service, August 20th. According to a comprehensive report, recently, the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant seems to have become a new hot spot in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of conducting military activities in the nuclear power plant area, which has aroused many concerns about nuclear safety.

　　On the 19th local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a phone call that they agreed to send a team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant for inspection as soon as possible.

On the same day, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who was visiting Ukraine, also said that the International Atomic Energy Agency would decide the route to the nuclear power plant after considering the opinions of both Russia and Ukraine.

FILE PHOTO: A Russian soldier guards the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant area.

Russia will cut off the nuclear power plant and Ukraine's power connection?

　　On the 19th local time, the "New York Times" quoted Ukraine's state nuclear power company (Energoatom) as saying that Russia was preparing to cut off the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant from the Ukrainian power system, a process "complex and potentially risky."

Russia will have to shut down the nuclear power plant reactor to change the power supply line.

This means that power to maintain the plant's cooling system will come from diesel generators, which could increase the risk of an accident at the facility.

　　According to the New York Times, when fully operational, the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant could meet about 10 percent of Ukraine's electricity needs and supply power to 4 million homes.

But if a power failure occurs while the reactor is being taken offline, it could cause problems with the cooling system, triggering an accident similar to the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.

　　The Ukrainian State Nuclear Power Corporation said in a statement that it believed that Russia was preparing to carry out a "large-scale provocation" at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry also said that Ukraine planned to launch a provocation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

　　The New York Times said it could not independently verify Ukraine's allegations of Russian intentions, and Russia did not immediately respond to the matter.

　　According to Agence France-Presse, during his visit to Ukraine on the 19th, UN Secretary-General Guterres urged Russia not to cut off the connection of the nuclear power plant to the Ukrainian power grid. He said that the power from the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant "is Ukraine's power". .

Risks remain, Russia and Ukraine continue to blame each other

　　Kirillov, the commander of the Russian radiation, chemical and biological protection forces, issued a statement on the 18th, saying that since July 18, the Ukrainian armed forces have used multiple rocket launchers, artillery and drones on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant area. attack.

As of August 18, the Russian side had recorded 12 shellings.

　　RIA Novosti reported on the 19th that the representative of the Zaporozhye state government, Rogov, reported that Russia has strengthened the protection of the nuclear power plant due to the possible shelling of the nuclear power plant by the Ukrainian armed forces.

　　In addition, on social media, videos recorded by former and current employees of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant appeared calling on Kyiv to stop the shelling of the nuclear power plant.

　　Some of them said that in the past few weeks, many cities and the nuclear power plant area itself had been shelled, and called on the Ukrainian side to "stop dangerous and reckless actions."

"It could lead to an international catastrophe where people will die."

　　Ukrainian news agency pointed out in a report that since August 5, the Russian army has been regularly shelling the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, and due to the Russian attack, three radiation monitoring sensors around the nuclear power plant’s spent fuel storage facilities were damaged. .

　　In addition, the Ukrainian side stated that it has established a crisis command headquarters in Zaporozhye, the state nuclear power company of Ukraine, which involves various government departments and is responsible for all-weather monitoring of the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

Russian and French presidents agree to investigate nuclear power plant

　　Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of conducting military activities in the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant area, which has aroused many concerns about nuclear safety.

On the 19th, the issue also became one of the themes of talks between the UN Secretary-General, the Turkish President and the Ukrainian President.

On April 19, local time, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a press conference in front of the "Knotted Pistol" sculpture at the UN headquarters in New York, calling on Russia and Ukraine to implement a four-day Orthodox Easter humanitarian temporary ceasefire in order to open a series of Humanitarian Corridor.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan

　　According to Agence France-Presse, the Ukrainian president and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres both agreed that the plant must be "demilitarized".

　　At the meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the 11th of this month, Guterres called for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine near the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and proposed to establish a "demilitarized zone" in this area, but this proposal was rejected by Russia. Fang refused.

　　The Russian Foreign Ministry said on the 18th that Russia could not accept the proposal to "demilitarize" the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and its surrounding areas, because it would make the facility "more vulnerable" in the event of continued provocations by the Ukrainian side. .

　　Radio France Internationale commented that the results of diplomatic consultations on the 19th showed that although the United Nations and Ukraine called for the demilitarization of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, there was no sign that an agreement was possible, and the Russian side, which occupied the site, was not invited to participate. This meeting makes it difficult to reach an agreement.

　　Also on the 19th, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron also had a phone call. The two sides emphasized the importance of dispatching an IAEA mission to the nuclear power plant as soon as possible in order to make a true and accurate assessment of the situation on site.

The Russian side confirmed its willingness to provide necessary assistance to the IAEA inspectors.

　　On the issue, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had discussed with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the details of the safe arrival of the IAEA delegation at the nuclear power plant.

He said that Russia should immediately and unconditionally allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to enter the nuclear power plant, and immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from the area related to the nuclear power plant.

　　According to Ukrainian News Agency, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba said that the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Grossi has accepted the invitation of Ukraine and will lead a delegation to visit the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in the near future.

　　The Secretary-General of the United Nations said that the International Atomic Energy Agency will decide on the route to the nuclear power plant after considering the opinions of both Russia and Ukraine.