Alexey Likhachev: The situation at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is severe; the IAEA should not merely stop at recording attacks and issuing danger warnings

Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, told the media during the IAEA General Conference held in Vienna, Austria, that if a disaster occurs at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which is under continuous shelling by the Ukrainian military, a radioactive cloud could spread to Vienna within tens of hours. Likhachev pointed out that the Ukrainian attacks have created unbearable living conditions for the residents of Enerhodar, the city where the nuclear power plant is located, and that other Russian nuclear power plants are also currently frequently attacked by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Likhachev emphasized that the security situation at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, located within the territory of the Russian Federation and operated and maintained by Russian citizens, has escalated rapidly in recent months. The Ukrainian military has not only launched strikes on the nuclear power plant itself and its infrastructure, but has also carried out a "systematic hunt" against civilians and nuclear power plant employees in its satellite city of Enerhodar. Since the end of April, 20 civilians have been killed in Enerhodar.

In response to the current severe situation, Likhachev called on the IAEA not to merely stop at recording the facts of the attacks and issuing danger warnings, but to clearly identify the party responsible for these criminal acts.