On the edge of the frontline in eastern Ukraine, Europe’s largest nuclear power station, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, has been caught in a crossfire.
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling dangerously close to the plant. The damage to critical infrastructure around the facility has been significant, and there are fears more damage could lead to a radiation disaster in the country that still manages the cleanup of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived at the plant on Thursday for an independent inspection after they were delayed by yet more shelling.
Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in early March as part of what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine. The plant is still operated by Ukrainian technicians working under “extremely stressful conditions,” according to the IAEA.
For weeks now, Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of endangering the plant's safety with artillery or drone strikes. Ukraine also accuses Russia of using it as a shield to launch attacks on Ukrainian-held territory, which Moscow denies.
Images released by U.S.-based Maxar Technologies on Aug. 30, show smoke in the surroundings of the plant, armoured personnel carriers near reactors and holes in the roof of the plant’s so-called “special buildings”, which house water treatment and waste management facilities and equipment repair shops. They are located in close proximity to the plant’s reactors.