Remember the myth of the Chernobyl cloud that stops at the border?
As the International Atomic Energy Agency published its report on the Zaporozhye power plant, the head of the Ukrainian nuclear security agency Oleg Korikov took it upon himself to remind that radioactive particles do not need a passport for traveling.
Damage to the reactor core would have "consequences not only for Ukraine, but also, clearly, consequences beyond borders", he warned on Wednesday.
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporozhye, which has been occupied for six months by Russian forces and whose site has been subjected to bombardments for which kyiv and Moscow accuse each other, is at the center of serious concerns for its security.
Last week, a team of 14 IAEA members visited the plant.
Rafael Grossi, head of the UN agency, said the site had been damaged in the fighting.
And in its report, the IAEA indicated that it would like a “safety zone” to be set up around the site, the situation of which has become “untenable”.
The head of the Ukrainian public operator Energoatom, Petro Kotin, for his part wished on Wednesday that this plant be placed under the protection of a “peacekeeping contingent”.
But the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov demanded "clarifications" from the IAEA on this report, and Vladimir Putin denied the agency's assertions about the presence of military equipment on the site.
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