FOG BLOG WORLD NEWS LOG: SHELLING AT UKRAINE NUCLEAR PLANT RAISES FEARS OF CATASTROPHE!

Shelling at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Is Raising Fears of an Accident. Here’s a Look at the Risks.

Repeated shelling inside the plant’s complex over the past seven days has stirred new concerns of a nuclear accident. KYIV, Ukraine — When Russian forces seized control of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in early March, a fierce gun battle with Ukrainian troops triggered a blaze that raised worldwide alarm over the risks of a catastrophic radiation leak. The fire was quickly extinguished. And although a Russian shell hit the No. 1 reactor, its thick walls protected it from damage, the Ukrainian government said at the time. Now, five months later, repeated shelling inside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant complex over the past seven days has stirred new concerns, with Ukrainian and Western officials warning that the attacks heighten the risk of a nuclear accident.

Each side blames the other for the explosions at the plant. The Ukrainians have accused the Russians of directing strikes there to cut off energy supplies to other cities and to try to discredit the Ukrainian military in the world’s eyes. The Russians say Ukraine is doing the shelling. Both sides would suffer if a meltdown occurred and spread radioactive material.

Ukrainian officials have also expressed growing alarm over the working conditions at the facility. More than 10,000 Ukrainian employees are charged with keeping the plant running safely even as Russia has transformed 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, said Thursday at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council that the world faced a “grave hour” as the safety of the plant deteriorated and called for a team of international experts to be given access to the plant immediately.