Video footage circulating online on Thursday purportedly shows Russian military vehicles being stored inside a Ukrainian nuclear plant under the control of Russian forces.
The vehicles, consisting of at least five green trucks marked with the white letter “Z,” indicating they belong to the Russian military, were seen parked inside a turbine hall connected to a nuclear reactor at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to reports. It’s unknown when the video was taken, but the surreptitious nature of the camerawork suggests it could have been filmed by one of the many Ukrainian technicians who continue to operate the facility.
Insider footage showing Russian military equipment in the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. The Russian army literally uses the plant as a shield. pic.twitter.com/RFdNjAnz7V
— Ruslan Trad (@ruslantrad) August 18, 2022
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A recent increase in shelling directed at the Zaporizhzhia facility, Europe’s largest nuclear plant, has sparked international fears of a nuclear catastrophe. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’s nuclear watchdog, to send inspectors to the facility and demanded that Russia allow them entry.
“First, there are no objective obstacles to prevent the IAEA mission from reaching the Zaporizhzhia NPP. Today, Mr. Guterres and I discussed the parameters of this mission and the fact that it can get to the plant very quickly and quite safely in a legal way through the free territory of our state. And just like that,” Zelensky said in his nightly address.
“The one who organized nuclear blackmail certainly cannot be the ‘transporter’ of any such missions. Russia must immediately and unconditionally allow IAEA representatives to the plant and also immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from the territory of the plant. The world has the power to ensure this,” he added.
The Zaporizhzhia facility, located in the southeastern city of Enerhodar, Ukraine, has been under the control of Russian troops since March. The Kremlin claims any military equipment at the facility is related to guard duties and that it is not storing heavy weapons at the plant.
The Ukrainian government has accused Russia of using the nuclear facility as a shield for its heavy artillery and launching attacks from it. Both nations have accused each other of threatening the safety of the facility.
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Earlier this month, Ukrainian officials said Russian shelling damaged radiation sensors at the plant and injured a worker. Russia, however, blamed the incident on an artillery strike by “Ukrainian nationalists.”
In July, Russian officials accused Ukraine of attacking the plant with kamikaze drones, wounding several workers.
A former plant worker told CNN on Thursday that he believes there is a “70%-90%” chance of disaster if shelling continues.
