Russian troops have placed military equipment, weapons, and explosives in the turbine department of the unit four of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, according to the information from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate reported that IAEA has also received unofficial reports that Russian forces are storing similar materials in other areas of the plant. These actions pose a serious threat to the safety of both plant personnel and nearby residents.
The Inspectorate emphasizes that any potential release of radioactive substances could have cross-border consequences.
Zaporizhzhia is located in southern Ukraine and serves as Europe's largest nuclear power plant. The plant has a gross power production capacity of 6,000 megawatts.
Since it was seized by Russian military forces a year ago, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has lost external power six times. Following the latest outage, the director general of the IAEA Rafael Mariano Grossi, issued an emotional statement calling for a protection zone around the plant and saying he was "astonished by the complacency" around the issue.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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