Petro Kotin, president of the Energoatom national nuclear energy generating company, notes that Russia can create a nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Region).
He stated this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
"After what was done at the Kakhovka HEPP, nothing can be guaranteed. In fact, a lot can be done to harm. And it's not just about the pond. There is a lot of nuclear material at the station," he said.
Kotin noted that the actions of the Russian army, which occupied the nuclear power plant, could lead to a nuclear disaster.
"If there is a possibility of an explosion, then of course there is a threat. It is always there. The Russians can do anything that could lead to a nuclear catastrophe. But there is no direct threat now, if there are no additional actions on their part," he said.
According to Kotin, the Russian Federation also mined the cooling pool of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
"But it is almost impossible to blow up so that the water from the pool starts to flow. Even if the top of the dam is blown up, you have to dig channels to let the water go down...There is a sluice gate - these are vertical gates like on sluices to shut off the water. They block the flow of water from the pool to the reservoir. They can either be opened or blown up. You can simply open them and drain the water. But even if blown up, the pond will be left with a "dead" water level of 12.8 meters. All the water will not come out. It then it can drain itself through the ground. But it will drain at the rate of one centimeter per week. So it will theoretically take years to empty the basin," he said.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Ukraine is calling on the Group of Seven states (USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan) and the European Union to take urgent measures to prevent a nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, in particular to introduce strengthened sanctions against the Russian nuclear industry and military-industrial complex, recognize Russia as a terrorist state and ensure the inevitability of consequences for all crimes committed by it.
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