Ukrainian residents stop Russian forces from taking over nuclear power plant

Common people on the streets of Ukraine are providing strong resistance to the advancing Russian forces, which is evident from the way locals blocked the access road to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in southeast of Ukraine, to prevent Russian soldiers from taking charge.

A video showing people’s resistance has gone viral on social media. The video, first shared by Enerhodar mayor Dmytro Orlov, shows a group of Ukrainians blocking access road to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant using tyres and lorries. The video showed people carrying Ukrainian flags and garbage trucks parked on the road. Enerhodar is located about 240 kilometres from Crimea, which the Russia had captured in 2014.

Orlov posted a comment along with the video: “Nobody is going to surrender the city. People are determined.” The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant contains six of country’s 15 nuclear reactors. While Ukrainians are rejoicing the little success, it is still a matter of concern because Russian forces have taken control of the territory round the nuclear plant. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest nuclear plant in Europe.

Also read: Ukraine war: What are the risks that Russia will turn to its nuclear arsenal?

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, expressed concern about the situation in Ukraine. “The situation in Ukraine is unprecedented and I continue to be gravely concerned. It is the first time a military conflict is happening amidst the facilities of a large, established nuclear power program,” he added.

“The safety and security of nuclear facilities, and nuclear and other radioactive material, in Ukraine must under no circumstances be endangered,” Grossi told the organization’s board of governors. “I have called for restraint from all measures or actions that could jeopardize the security of nuclear and other radioactive material, and the safe operation of any nuclear facilities in Ukraine.”

Grossi told the IAEA, which includes Russia and Ukraine, that in 2009 they unanimously affirmed that “any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Statute of the Agency.”

Four nuclear power plants in Ukraine meet half of the country’s electricity demand. Chernobyl, recently captured by the Russians, was witness to the biggest nuclear disaster in human history.