Follow our live blog about the war in Ukraine here
Ukraine hit a Russian base in Energodar on Friday, a city where the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located, occupied by Russian troops and which receives a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Ukrainian Army announced on Friday.
“In the towns of Kherson and Energodar, precise strikes by our troops destroyed three enemy artillery systems, as well as an ammunition depot,” killing many Russian soldiers, the Ukrainian military said in a statement.
The pro-kyiv mayor of Energodar, Dmytro Orlov, currently in exile, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that he had no information so far, pointing to serious problems with the mobile network in that city on Friday.
The Ukrainian military also claimed that Russian forces had removed “all their military equipment from the plant site” before the arrival of the IAEA mission, noting that several military personnel remained at the facility.
The Zaporizhia plant, Europe’s largest, fell to Russian troops in March, shortly after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, and the site has been the target of several bombardments, raising fears of a nuclear disaster.
kyiv and Moscow have exchanged accusations about responsibility for the attacks.
On Thursday morning, before the arrival of the IAEA mission, the Ukrainian authorities accused the Russians of having bombed Energodar with the intention of blaming kyiv.
At the same time, the Russian army accused the Ukrainians of sending a team of “sabotage” to recapture the nuclear power plant.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Thursday after the site visit that “it is obvious that the central and physical integrity of the facility has been violated on several occasions, either casually or deliberately.”
The head of the mission, who visited “three or four key areas that he wanted to inspect personally” – such as nuclear power plants, diesel generators and control rooms – and who said he had spoken with workers and residents of Energodar, reiterated that the “IAEA is in the center and does not leave the place”.
The IAEA experts “will remain (on site) until Sunday or Monday” to deepen the inspection in order to prepare a report, according to Grossi, who will then present the document to the head of the Vienna-based UN agency. .
The second operational reactor of the nuclear power plant, which was disconnected this Thursday due to an attack, returned to work this Friday and was connected to the electricity grid, reported the state nuclear energy company of Ukraine (Energoatom).
Currently, two reactors out of a total of six, 5 and 6, are in operation, producing electricity for Ukraine’s needs, according to Energoatom, which ensures the normal operation of equipment and security systems.
Reactor No. 5 had been shut down when emergency protection was activated by an attack Ukraine blamed on the Russian military.
Ten days ago, the two reactors that were still in operation had to be shut down and the plant suffered the first blackout in its history.
Source: Observadora
