MINSK, 18 August (BelTA) – We must prevent a man-made catastrophe of a planetary scale, Chairwoman of the Standing Commission on Economy, Budget and Finance Tatiana Runets of the Council of the Republic told BelTA while commenting on the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP).
"Ukraine's shelling of the ZNPP, which is under the control of Russian troops, has recently been of particular concern all over the world. Moreover, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been shelling the power units proper and also the cooling and power supply systems of nuclear reactors, and the spent nuclear fuel storage facility," Tatiana Runets said. “It should be noted that the ZNPP, built by the Soviet Union, has six power units and is the most powerful nuclear power plant in Europe. The reactors are designed to withstand a direct collision with an aircraft, but the constant shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine of the reactors and their protection devices can destroy them, and then the irreparable will happen.”
Depending on the prevailing and dominant winds, radioactive contamination can affect not only the adjacent Ukrainian and Russian territories, but also the countries of Europe, the Caucasus region, Turkey and will make the lands unsuitable for life for many years ahead. "For example, after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, a radioactive trace circled the entire planet four times. Traces of radiation fallout were found thousands of kilometers away. The cities and settlements within a radius of tens of kilometers from the Chernobyl NPP are still uninhabited. And it was only one power unit. The ZNPP has six of them and the nuclear waste storage facility," she added.
Like no other country, Belarus has experienced all the impact of the Chernobyl disaster. "Almost 70% of radioactive fallout landed in Belarus. The contamination zone affected 3,678 communities with more than 2 million people. About 500 settlements ceased to exist. We need to prevent a man-made catastrophe of a planetary scale and I call on Ukraine to stop the reckless and extremely dangerous shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant," Tatiana Runets emphasized.
