Rosenergoatom: the safety of the NPP is possible only if Kiev is obliged to stop the shellingMOSCOW, Dec 19 - RIA Novosti.
It is possible to create a security zone around the Zaporozhye NPP only under one condition - it is necessary to oblige Ukraine to stop the shelling of the station and the territories adjacent to it, according to Renat Karchaa, adviser to the general director of Rosenergoatom.
To date, he stated, Ukraine still adheres to its position of "nuclear blackmail" in relation to the nuclear power plant.
"Talking about security zones is certainly interesting. We can talk on this topic for a long time, discuss, look for compromise solutions, but until the main key decision is made, which would oblige Ukraine to stop artillery shelling and any artillery activity both at the station and in the city of Energodar and its environs, all the talk about the security zone in my opinion is just talk. about all the good against all the bad, nothing more," Karchaa said on the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
The protective barrier erected in front of the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at the Zaporozhye NPP will be able to protect only from fragments, and not from Ukrainian shells in case of their direct hit, Renat Karchaa said.
"Of course (the threat remains - ed.), because the shells and their capacities are different. These additional structures will not be able to protect us from all the shells... Nevertheless, we are concerned about this, we constantly think about nuclear safety and we ensure it to the best of our abilities and capabilities. We are responsible for the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant in this sense." Karchaa said.
He clarified that this structure had been erected a long time ago and had already "taken over" fragments from Ukrainian shells fired on the territory of the station on the 20th of November.
Zaporizhia NPP is located on the left bank of the Dnieper River near the town of Energodar. This is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe in terms of the number of units and installed capacity – the station has six power units with a capacity of 1 gigawatt. Since March, she has been under the protection of the Russian military. The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that this step is justified in order to avoid preventing leaks of nuclear and radioactive materials.
The Ukrainian military continue to regularly shell Energodar and the territory of the Zaporozhye NPP adjacent to the city. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Kiev regime is trying to create the appearance of a threat of a nuclear catastrophe by continuing to purposefully fire at the NPP.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly stated the need to create a safety zone around the NPP.
Earlier, the Kremlin stated that it was necessary to demand that Ukraine withdraw heavy weapons from the NPP and stop the shelling. Moscow also indicated that there is no significant progress in the security zone around the NPP.