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Ukraine war: Russia undermining safety of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant - UK Ukraine war: 'Russia using nuclear plant as cover to shell us'
(about 4 hours later)
A covered Russian tank outside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on 4 AugustA covered Russian tank outside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on 4 August
Russian forces at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant have likely undermined the security and safety of the plant's operations, the UK's defence ministry says. Russian forces at Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine are employing "terror tactics" by using the site to launch rocket attacks on civilians, the BBC has been told.
Europe's largest nuclear plant has been under Russian control since March but is still operational. "Every morning we wake up and see that they have hit only residential homes," a local businessman told us.
The UK defence ministry says Russian troops are probably using the plant as a shield to deter Ukrainian attacks. Russia controls the Zaporizhzhia plant and surrounding areas, close to Ukrainian-held territory.
The UN nuclear watchdog has warned the plant is "completely out of control". Western officials have sounded the alarm about Russia's tactics there.
The nuclear plant lies in the south-east of Ukraine along the eastern bank of the Dnipro river. It is currently still being operated by Ukrainian employees, though Russia is occupying the plant and the region around it. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant lies in the south-east of Ukraine along the eastern bank of the Dnipro river. It is currently still being operated by Ukrainian employees under Russian supervision.
It consists of six pressurised water reactors and stores radioactive waste.It consists of six pressurised water reactors and stores radioactive waste.
In an update on Twitter, the UK's defence ministry said Russian troops are likely to be operating in the areas around the power station, and have used artillery units based in these areas to target Ukrainian territory on the Dnipro river's western bank, likely compromising the facility's safety. In its daily intelligence update, the UK defence ministry said Russia was using the area to launch attacks - taking advantage of the "protected status" of the nuclear power plant to reduce the risk of overnight attacks from Ukrainian forces.
It added that Russian forces have probably used the facility's wider area, in particular the adjacent city of Enerhodar, to rest their forces, with the knowledge that the plant and surrounding area cannot be easily attacked without risking a nuclear disaster. The head of the UN's nuclear agency, Rafael Grossi, warned this week that the plant was "completely out of control".
The UK's warnings came a day after the head of the UN's nuclear agency Rafael Grossi was quoted by the Associated Press as saying there is "a catalogue of things [in Zaporizhzhia] that should never be happening in any nuclear facility." Any accident at the power station could have catastrophic consequences.
He added that the plant needed an inspection and repairs. The assessment reflects the views of civilians in nearby Nikopol, which lies across the Dnipro river and is still under Ukrainian control.
"Our forces don't shoot back because the 30km zone around the power station is sacred. You don't want to shoot there. But the Russians are terrorists. There's nothing sacred to them," the local businessman, who did not want to be named, told the BBC.
"It's meant to scare us," he continued, explaining that rockets have hit Nikopol every night since the middle of July.
"It's not only people in Nikopol who are scared of a nuclear accident," the Nikopol businessman said. "It's the biggest nuclear plant in Europe. If there's an accident, it wont only be local to Nikopol. It would have consequences for the whole world."
Ukraine has previously said that Russian forces have stationed troops and are storing military equipment on the power station's grounds.Ukraine has previously said that Russian forces have stationed troops and are storing military equipment on the power station's grounds.
The American ambassador to Ukraine has also said there are "credible reports" that Russian forces are using the plant "as the equivalent of a nuclear shield, firing at Ukrainians from around the plant". The American ambassador to Ukraine has also said there are "credible reports" that Russian forces are using the plant "as the equivalent of a nuclear shield" .
"They shoot at us, and there is nothing we can do," a resident in Nikopol, a city on the other side of the Dnipro river's banks, told the New York Times.
But a Russian-installed official in the region told Reuters news agency that Ukrainian forces are using Western-supplied weapons to attack the plant.But a Russian-installed official in the region told Reuters news agency that Ukrainian forces are using Western-supplied weapons to attack the plant.
Russia shelled the plant when it was seized, leading to an international outcry.Russia shelled the plant when it was seized, leading to an international outcry.
Watch: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant appears to be on fire following shelling.Watch: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant appears to be on fire following shelling.
Watch: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant appears to be on fire following shelling.Watch: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant appears to be on fire following shelling.