What if the bombings continue at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant?

Repeated shelling inside the plant complex over the past seven days has raised new concerns about a nuclear accident.

kyiv, Ukraine — When Russian forces took control of Europe's largest nuclear power plant in early March, a fierce firefight with Ukrainian troops sparked a fire that sounded the alarm around the world about the risk of a catastrophic radioactive leak.

The fire was quickly extinguished. And although a Russian shell hit Reactor No. 1, its thick walls protected it from damage, the Ukrainian government said at the time.

Now, five months later, repeated bombings inside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant complex over the past seven days have raised new concerns, with Ukrainian and Western officials warning that the attacks increase the risk of a nuclear accident. .

Each side blames the other for the explosions at the factory.

The Ukrainians blamed the Russians to direct strikes there to cut off energy supplies to other cities and attempt to discredit the Ukrainian military in the eyes of the world. Russians say Ukraine is doing the bombing.

Both sides would suffer if a meltdown occurs and spills radioactive material.

Ukrainian officials have also expressed growing concern about working conditions at the facility. More than 10,000 Ukrainian workers are tasked with keeping the plant running smoothly even as Russia has turned it into a military fortress and engaged in what Ukrainian officials say is a campaign of intimidation and harassment .

Rafael M. Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told a meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday that the world was facing a "grave hour" as plant security deteriorated and called for a team of international experts. experts must have access to the factory immediately.

Mr. Grossi said there was currently "no immediate threat" following the recent bombings, but warned that the assessment "could change at any time".

The United States has called for the creation of a demilitarized zone around the plant, but Russia has given no indication that it would even consider leaving the facility.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to a nation that still bears the scars of the nuclear disaster of the 1986 Chernobyl facility collapse, said the Kremlin engaged in "undisguised nuclear blackmail" and called the situation at the plant "one of the greatest crimes of the terrorist state". ."

As global authorities warn of growing risk at the plant, here's a look at the situation and the most pressing concerns.

The Zaporizhzhia plant occupies a place on the Dnipr o River along the front lines of the war between Russia and Ukraine The Ukrainian army controls the west bank, while the Russians are entrenched around the factory on the east bank of the river.

For weeks, according to Ukrainian officials, Russian forces have been fortifying the outside of the plant and using it as a staging ground for attacks on Ukrainian-held territory , believing that Ukrainian forces will not return fire due to the risk of an errant strike. Ukrainian officials said they usually did not retaliate, and when they did they were guided, like a drone.

August 5, shells. ..