Ukraine distributes iodine pills to residents as shelling around a nuclear power station continues, prompting worries of a radioactive leak.
Approximately 25,000 pills have been sent to the region in response to radiation fears.
In the event of a leak, potassium iodide prevents the absorption of radioactive iodine.
The captive nuclear facility has been the target of continuous shelling.
Ukraine has distributed iodine tablets to citizens living near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station out of concern that frequent bombardment may cause a radiation leak.
Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of the Zaporizhia province, educated Ukrainian television viewers within a 30-mile radius on how to use potassium iodide.
The governor stated that the pills are being distributed “in case of a potential radioactive spill.”
The city of Enerhodar has received approximately 25,000 pills from the regional reserve.
Potassium iodide prevents the thyroid gland from absorbing radioactive iodine in the case of a nuclear disaster.
One dose should provide 24 hours of protection.
Yesterday’s satellite image shows the view from above the Russian-seized nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia.
A Russian serviceman watches over a section of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station that has prompted fears of a radioactive leak.
The Zaporizhzhia plant, which contains six of Ukraine’s reactors, has been held by Russian troops since immediately after Moscow’s invasion began on February 24 and has remained on the frontlines ever since.
Radiation levels in the region are currently normal, but Ukraine and Russia have both accused the other of bombarding the nuclear power station, putting it at risk of a leak.
Energoatom, the state nuclear business of Ukraine, reported that Kremlin forces shelled the site twice over the past twenty-four hours, and they are still assessing the damage.
Some shells also landed close to facilities that store reactor fuel and hazardous waste.
Energoatom stated, “There are hazards of hydrogen leakage and radioactive material sputtering, and the fire risk is significant.”
However, the Kremlin claimed that Ukrainian shells had impacted the roof above 168 nuclear fuel assemblies belonging to the Westinghouse company.
A man walks through a highly damaged residential structure in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, following a recent air strike.
Last week’s barrage of bombardment had already rendered the facility momentarily inoperable.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, announced today that he was en route to Zaporizhzhia to assess the site.
Grossi tweeted, “The time has arrived, the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya is now in route,” adding that the team from the UN atomic watchdog would arrive at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant “later this week.”
In a photograph accompanying his tweet, the IAEA director general posed with thirteen individuals wearing caps and sleeveless coats with the organization’s logo.
Grossi has requested access to the facility for months, citing “the very real potential of a nuclear calamity.”
The United Nations has demanded that all military action surrounding the complex cease.
Ukraine at first feared that an IAEA mission would legitimize the Russian possession of the site, but ultimately supported the expedition.
Friday, Zelensky urged the watchdog to dispatch a team immediately.
Saturday, an excavator demolishes destroyed structures in Mariupol as Russian bombardment continues.
Energoatom stated that the facility was disconnected from Ukraine’s national power grid between Thursday and Friday for the first time in its four-decade history owing to the “activities of the invaders.”
It became available again on Friday afternoon.
Putin had agreed that a team of independent inspectors might travel to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor via Ukraine, the French presidency announced after Emmanuel Macron’s call on August 20.
Ukraine claims that Russia is virtually keeping the plant captive by storing weapons there and launching attacks surrounding it, while Russia accuses Ukraine of firing indiscriminately at the facility. The facility in Zaporizhzhia has six reactors.
The Ukrainian atomic energy organization has issued a map predicting where radiation could spread from the Zaporizhzhia facility, painting a bleak image of the hazard.
Energoatom stated in a statement that during the previous twenty-four hours, Russian troops targeted the nearby city of Enerhodar and the power plant, injuring ten individuals, four of whom were power plant employees.
In addition, attacks were reported over the weekend in Russian-controlled territory adjacent to the facility along the left bank of the Dnieper River and in Ukraine-controlled territory along the right bank, including the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets, which are each approximately six miles from the facility.
Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, stated on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had assaulted the plant twice in the preceding day, and that rounds had landed near facilities containing reactor fuel and radioactive waste.
“One missile fell in the vicinity of the sixth power unit, and five others in front of the sixth unit pumping station, which supplies cooling for this reactor,” said Konashenkov, adding that radiation levels were normal. There was no way to independently confirm the allegations.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Sunday that radiation levels were normal, that two of the six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were operational, and that while no complete assessment had yet been made, recent fighting had damaged a water pipeline, which had since been repaired.
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