Pro-Russian administration of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region develops evacuation plan in case of accident at nuclear plant

Officials of the part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region currently occupied by Russia have developed an evacuation plan in case of an accident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Yevgeny Balitsky, the “head of the military-civil administration” of the region, told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

Balitsky noted that at this time, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is working as usual, and the level of radiation does not exceed the norm.

“However, knowing the insidiousness, recklessness and ruthlessness of the Kyiv regime regarding the people that they publicly call their citizens, we have prepared for any scenario, of course, and this is why we have developed an evacuation plan if such a need arises,” he stated.

On 28 February, the Russian Defence Ministry stated that it had taken control of Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is located. The Russian military also reported capturing Berdyansk, Melitopol and the territory around the nuclear plant. The plant itself was captured by the Russian forces on 4 March.

Since then, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian Defence Ministry have regularly accused each other of shelling the nuclear plant. Ukraine’s nuclear energy agency Enerhoatom stated that Russian military had kidnapped the plant workers.

Earlier, the authorities of the European Union and 42 countries called upon Russia to withdraw its troops from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. In the statement, they said that Russia controlling the power plant prevented “the operator and the Ukrainian authorities from fulfilling their nuclear and radiation safety obligations”. Before that, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Russia and Ukraine to immediately cease hostilities near the power plant.

Two days ago, Ukraine’s Enerhoatom reported that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant had been taken completely off the grid for the first time in its history. Later, the power plant was reconnected. The company stated that the nuclear plant “continues to work in Ukraine’s energy system and meet the electricity needs of our country”.