Ukraine: Fighting poses threat to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as shelling, gun battles continue

Nuclear experts have warned that fighting in Ukraine poses a growing threat to Europe’s biggest atomic power plant, as a Russian warlord said his mercenaries had been promised more ammunition after he threatened to withdraw from the fight for the city of Bakhmut.

Deadly shelling and gun battles continued in eastern Ukraine over the weekend, while near the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, a prominent ultranationalist politician and writer who fought for Moscow in Ukraine, was injured in a bomb attack that killed his driver.

“The general situation in the area near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous. I’m extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant,” said Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences for the population and the environment. This major nuclear facility must be protected,” he added.

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The Zaporizhzhia plant is operated by Ukrainian technicians overseen by Russian troops who seized it soon after their full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Its six reactors have been shut down but still need constant management, amid frequent shelling that has repeatedly caused power cuts and forced the site to switch to backup diesel generators.

Russia is now evacuating thousands of civilians from the town of Enerhodar, where staff at the plant live, and other nearby settlements as its troops brace for a Ukrainian counter-attack.

“The IAEA experts at the ... site were not able to visit Enerhodar in recent days. But they have received information about the situation regarding the evacuation in the town,” the IAEA said, adding that power station officials had assured them that employees were not being evacuated and that staff numbers were “sufficient for the safe operation of the plant”.

Ukraine is preparing for a counter-offensive that is expected to focus on the southeastern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson and a bid Kyiv’s forces to drive south to the Azov Sea, splitting Moscow’s invasion force and severing the land link between the Russian border and the occupied Crimea peninsula.

Ukrainian officials reported continued Russian shelling across eastern and southeastern regions, and the death of six members of a demining team in an attack on Saturday on the province of Kherson.

[ Ukraine calls for end of Russian control of Zaporizhzhia plant to avoid disaster like Chernobyl ]

[ Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: Everything you need to know ]

Analysts say Russian units have switched to a defensive posture along much of the front line but continue to try to seize the road and rail junction of Bakhmut in Donetsk region, which has been largely flattened by months of intense fighting. Kyiv claims the Kremlin wants it to fall by Tuesday, when Russia’s Victory Day holiday will mark the Soviet role in defeating Nazi Germany.

Russia’s attack on Bakhmut is spearheaded by the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who on Friday lambasted Moscow’s top defence officials over alleged ammunition shortages faced by his unit, and said it would withdraw from the town on May 10th to prevent more “senseless” deaths and “lick its wounds”.

On Sunday, however, Mr Prigozhin announced that Wagner had been “promised as much ammunition and weapons as we need to continue further operations. We have been promised that everything needed to prevent the enemy from cutting us off will be deployed”.

Zakhar Prilepin, an ultranationalist Russian writer, politician and former militia member in eastern Ukraine, was injured on Saturday when a bomb blew up his car, killing his driver. Russian officials claimed that a suspect was quickly arrested and confessed to carrying out the attack for Ukraine’s security services.