Nuclear Catastrophe Worries Hang Over Europe, But Who's To Blame For Shelling At Zaporizhzhya Power Plant?

The world's attention is now focused on a nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Europe's largest, where repeated shelling has raised fears of a nuclear disaster like the one at Chernobyl in 1986. But what is not clear is who is behind the shelling and nuclear brinkmanship at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

Amid the fog of war, both Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the artillery strikes in and around the plant, trying to score points while toying with the safety of a large chunk of the civilian population in two continents.

But international media and other agencies have been unable to verify information from either side as to who is responsible for carrying out these strikes that can lead to another nuclear disaster. The only thing that is clear now is that Russian forces control the plant, which raises questions about how many of those strikes can actually be Russian false flag operations as Ukraine is claiming. That is not to say Russia is not culpable in sending troops into the nuclear plant.

A 14-member International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team is finally set to arrive at the Zaporizhzhya plant for inspection later this week after some uncertainty. But the shelling has continued.

Russian forces took control of the nuclear power plant complex, said to be Europe's largest, in early March. Although the complex is under Russian control, the power plant itself is managed and operated by Ukrainian workers under the country's nuclear authority, Energoatom — a state-owned enterprise which operates all nuclear power stations in Ukraine. Since then both sides have blamed each other for carrying out repeated strikes at the plant complex.

In March, soon after its troops took control of the complex, the Russian defense ministry blamed an attack at the plant on Ukrainian saboteurs, calling it a "monstrous provocation".

By July 5, Russian forces set up a military base at the complex. Later, on July 19, it was reported that Ukrainian forces attacked the Russian base at the complex using suicide drones, killing three soldiers and injuring 12 others.

Blaming Russia for carrying out the strikes at the nuclear plant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had earlier this month said Russia must take responsibility for its "act of terror" and called for harsh sanctions against the entire Russian nuclear industry.

"Today, the occupiers have created another extremely risky situation for all of Europe: they struck the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant twice. Any bombing of this site is a shameless crime, an act of terror," Zelenskiy said in his video address.

In recent weeks, the complex and the surrounding areas have reportedly been shelled, which has sparked worries of a potential nuclear catastrophe. Following fresh attacks at the site, power supply from the plant was cut off from Ukraine's national grid for the first time in its four-decade history between Thursday and Friday. The supply was restored by Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, blaming the fall-out on the "actions of the invaders," Energoatom on Saturday warned of the risk of radioactive leaks and fire. The Ukrainian nuclear agency also alleged on the same day that Russian forces were torturing Ukrainian workers to keep them from disclosing safety risks at the plant to the IAEA.

In an unusual move, Ukraine authorities distributed iodine capsules to people living within a 50-km radius of the plant, heightening the fears of the civilian population.

Potassium iodine tablets can block one type of radioactive material and are used in nuclear emergencies to help protect the thyroid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

News reports quoted Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of the Zaporizhzhya region, as telling Ukrainian television that residents were being told how to use potassium iodide. The capsules were being distributed in case of any future radiation leak, the report said.

In a statement issued Sunday, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Ukraine had informed the agency of renewed shelling around the plant in recent days, but added that all safety systems remained operational and there had been no increase in radiation levels.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sunday that Moscow hoped that a visit to the Zaporozhye (Russian for Zaporizhzhia) nuclear power plant by IAEA inspectors will finally take place, despite "Kiev's destructive influence."

"We are convinced that it (an IAEA inspection) is to take place, despite the destructive influence on this process by the Kiev regime and all those who are backing it and those who are using the nuclear facility as a mere instrument of not even blackmailing but terrorism," Russian news agency TASS reported her as saying in an interview.

French President Immanuel Macron said Aug. 19 that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to send a mission of IAEA experts to the plant.

Although Ukraine initially feared that an IAEA visit would legitimize the Russian occupation of the power plant site, Zelensky on Friday urged the UN watchdog to send a team as soon as possible.

The United Nations, meanwhile, has called for an end to all military activity in the area surrounding the complex.