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Putin plans ‘man made catastrophe’ at Chernobyl to ‘blackmail world’, Ukrainian intelligence claims

Putin plans 'man made catastrophe' at Chernobyl to 'blackmail world', Ukrainian intelligence claims 2

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Russia is preparing a ‘terrorist attack’ on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in order to create a ‘man-made catastrophe’, Ukraine’s intelligence services said today.

The invading forces would create a ‘technological catastrophe’ before trying to shift the responsibility on to Kyiv, according to an intelligence update posted online.

The warning came as Britain and the US were raising the alarm over suspicions the Kremlin could use chemical weapons in its brutal war.

It also came a day after Russia’s deputy energy minister, Yevgeny Grabchak, said power had been restored to the decommissioned plant, after Ukraine said earlier this week that Putin’s forces had cut the electricity.

However, the intelligence update disputed this, and repeated an earlier warning that if the electricity is cut, the plant’s emergency diesel generators that provide back-up power to safety systems can only last 48-hours.

The power cut – and Ukraine’s latest warning – has raised concerns that Chernobyl could be the site of another nuclear disaster, as spent nuclear fuel can not not be cooled without electricity to pump cold water into cooling pools. 

‘According to available information, Vladimir Putin has ordered the preparation of a terrorist attack at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,’ the intelligence update said.

‘The Russian-controlled Chernobyl nuclear power plant plans to create a man-made catastrophe, for which the occupiers will try to shift responsibility to Ukraine.’

Russian forces captured the plant and cut the power in the early days of the invasion.

The intelligence service also said that since then, the plant has been disconnected from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s monitoring systems.

‘Currently, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is completely disconnected from the monitoring systems of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),’ it said.

‘The station is de-energized. The service life of the available diesel generators is designed for 48 hours of maintenance of safety systems.’ 

The update continued: ‘In order to imitate the involvement of the Ukrainian military in the Chernobyl accident, the occupiers are trying to create fake “evidence” to confirm their version.

‘In particular, Russian car refrigerators collecting the bodies of dead Ukrainian defenders were spotted near the Antonov airport in Gostomel. There is a possibility that they will be presented as killed saboteurs in the Chernobyl zone.’

Earlier this week, Ukraine pleaded with Russia to observe a ceasefire so engineers could go into Chernobyl and restore the power. This was refused, Ukraine said. 

‘The occupiers refused to grant access to the station to Ukrainian repairmen,’ the update continued.

‘Instead, ‘Belarusian specialists’ went there on the instructions of Alexander Lukashenko. Among them, under the guise of nuclear power plants, Russian saboteurs also come to organize a terrorist attack.’

Russia is preparing an attack on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in order to create a 'man-made catastrophe', Ukraine's intelligence services said today. Pictured: A Russian tank is shown parked just in front of the destroyed reactor in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Feb. 24

Russia is preparing an attack on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in order to create a ‘man-made catastrophe’, Ukraine’s intelligence services said today. Pictured: A Russian tank is shown parked just in front of the destroyed reactor in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Feb. 24

Ukraine has warned that radioactive substances could be released from the if power is not restored to the plant. Pictured: A still image taken from a handout video made available by the Russian Defence Ministry press service shows a general view of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukraine, March 7

Ukraine has warned that radioactive substances could be released from Chernobyl if power is not restored to the plant. Pictured: A still image taken from a handout video made available by the Russian Defence Ministry press service shows a general view of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukraine, March 7

On Wednesday, IAEA also said it had lost contact with the captured Zaporizhzhia power plant, just hours after warning of a potential unfolding disaster at Chernobyl. 

The agency said warning systems at Zaporizhzhia – Europe’s largest nuclear power plant – had stopped broadcasting updates in the days since Russian forces shelled the site, resulting in international condemnation.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said Wednesday he was ‘concerned about the sudden interruption’ of the data flows to the watchdog’s Vienna headquarters.

He added that the reason for the disruption in updates from the power plants was not clear but the IAEA was still receiving data from other nuclear facilities in Ukraine, including three other operational nuclear power plants.

Also on Wednesday, Ukraine warned Chernobyl could be 48 hours away from leaking radiation, and the country’s nuclear company Energoatom warned that radioactive substances could be released if an electricity outage at the site continues any longer, as it makes it impossible to cool spent nuclear fuel. 

Energoatom has said that work to repair the connection and restore power to the plant – the site of the world’s biggest nuclear disaster in 1996 – has not been possible because fighting is under way in the region. 

Putin plans 'man made catastrophe' at Chernobyl to 'blackmail world', Ukrainian intelligence claims 3

Pictured: A graphic showing the series of events that led to the explosion in the reactor in Reactor 4 on the night of April 26, 1986

Pictured: A graphic showing the series of events that led to the explosion in the reactor in Reactor 4 on the night of April 26, 1986

 

The company said there were about 20,000 spent fuel assemblies at Chernobyl that could not be kept cool amid a power outage.

Their warming could lead to ‘the release of radioactive substances into the environment. The radioactive cloud could be carried by wind to other regions of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Europe,’ it said in a statement.

Without power, ventilation systems at the plant would also not be working, exposing staff to dangerous doses of radiation, it added.

Russia took control of the defunct atomic plant on the first day of the invasion and has since captured a second nuclear site – Zaporizhzhia – the biggest in Europe.

Energy operator Ukrenergo also said their power has been entirely cut to the plant and its security systems. 

The plant ‘was fully disconnected from the power grid,’ Ukrenergo said in a statement on its Facebook page, adding that military operations meant ‘there is no possibility to restore the lines’.

The recent developments have now added increasing concern about safety and security around the region. 

Last week staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were captured on video pleading with Russian soldiers directing fire on the building before they overtook it.  

The nuclear power plant, which creates around 20 percent of Ukraine’s electricity, was captured after a fierce gun battle between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s men and Ukrainian defenders that sparked a fire in a six-story training building.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said warning systems at the Zaporizhzhia power plant had stopped broadcasting updates

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said warning systems at the Zaporizhzhia power plant had stopped broadcasting updates 

Eventually, emergency crews were allowed to go in and douse the flames at the Zaporizhzhia plant before Russian troops moved in and occupied the site.

The United Nation’s nuclear monitoring agency said that, fortunately, none of the site’s six reactors had been directly damaged and radiation levels remained normal.  

The IAEA said later on Wednesday it saw ‘no critical impact on safety’ from the power cut at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine.

The Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that Ukraine had informed it of the loss of electricity and that the development violates a ‘key safety pillar on ensuring uninterrupted power supply.’ 

But it tweeted that ‘in this case IAEA sees no critical impact on safety.’

The IAEA said that there could be ‘effective heat removal without need for electrical supply’ from spent nuclear fuel at the site.

Speaking to MailOnline Claire Corkhill – Professor of Nuclear Material Degradation at Sheffield University – said that while power being cut at Chernobyl was concerning, the spent nuclear fuel would not lead to a nuclear ‘meltdown’.

‘With the electricity supply to the Chernobyl site unavailable, there are several areas of concern with regards to the safety of the nuclear material stored there,’ she said. 

The first issue, she explained, is that spent fuel from reactors one and three is kept cool in metal casings in a pond (that looks like a large swimming pool).

‘This material produces heat through radioactive decay and requires constant cooling, which is achieved by pumping fresh cool water into the ponds,’ she said.

‘With no power supply, this water could slowly evaporate, potentially resulting in contamination of the building by low levels of radioactive isotopes.’ 

The second issue, she said, concerns the monitoring of radioactivity levels in reactor four – the reactor that exploded in 1996.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was captured after a fierce gun battle between Russian President Vladimir Putin's men and Ukrainian defenders

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was captured after a fierce gun battle between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s men and Ukrainian defenders 

Systems monitoring nuclear material at the radioactive waste facilities at Chernobyl in Ukraine have stopped transmitting data to the UN's nuclear watchdog

Systems monitoring nuclear material at the radioactive waste facilities at Chernobyl in Ukraine have stopped transmitting data to the UN’s nuclear watchdog

‘It is essential that radiation monitoring systems are able to constantly monitor the situation inside reactor 4 so that we can be aware of any potential reasons for concern about the exposed nuclear fuel that resides there,’ Prof. Corkhill said.

‘Another serious concern is the maintenance of the ventilation system in the New Safe Confinement structure,’ she continued. The Chernobyl New Safe Confinement is the huge cover – or sarcophagus – that was placed over reactor four in 2016.

‘This prevents further degradation of Reactor number 4 and the hazardous exposed nuclear fuel within, and is essential to the future decommissioning of the site. 

‘If there is no power to this structure, we could see the complete failure of the 1.5Bn euro decommissioning programme to make the site safe once and for all.’ 

While Prof. Corkhill said there the loss of power would unlikely lead to a wide scale released of radioactivity, she said it was more likely there would be ‘severe contamination within one of the spent fuel storage facilities.’ 

Prof Corkhill’s research focuses on understanding the long-term evolution of radioactive waste material in disposal environments and she provides independent advice to the UK government’s radioactive waste management and disposal policies.

She is leading a British team that is making a key contribution to the huge clear-up operation at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power station in Japan after developing material that simulates the most dangerous radioactive debris remaining in the reactors. 

On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine and seized the defunct plant, site of a 1986 disaster that killed hundreds and spread radioactive contamination west across Europe.

A sudden power surge at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant resulted in a massive reactor explosion, exposing the core and blanketing the western Soviet Union and Europe with radiation. Pictured, the Chernobyl plant three days after the explosion on April 29, 1986

A sudden power surge at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant resulted in a massive reactor explosion, exposing the core and blanketing the western Soviet Union and Europe with radiation. Pictured, the Chernobyl plant three days after the explosion on April 29, 1986

 

The Chernobyl site has been under the control of Russian troops since last week.

The cause of the damage to the power line serving it was not immediately clear. 

On Tuesday the UN atomic watchdog IAEA said that the site was no longer transmitting data and voiced concern for staff working under Russian guard.

The situation for the staff ‘was worsening’, the IAEA said, citing the Ukrainian nuclear regulator.

The defunct plant sits inside an exclusion zone that houses decommissioned reactors as well as radioactive waste facilities.

In 2016, the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement was put in place to cover the reactor. It was designed to prevent further release of radioactive contaminants for 100 years.

More than 2,000 staff still work at the plant as it requires constant management to prevent another nuclear disaster.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Tuesday called on ‘on the forces in effective control of the site to urgently facilitate the safe rotation of personnel there.’

He also repeated his offer to travel to Chernobyl or elsewhere to secure ‘the commitment to the safety and security’ of Ukraine’s power plants from all parties.  

‘The Director General indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chernobyl NPP had been lost,’ the IAEA said in a statement yesterday.

Safeguards keep track of nuclear material and waste products generated by nuclear power plants.

The IAEA urged Russian authorities to allow the 210 staff members who are being held captive at Chernobyl to leave, arguing that although radiation levels in the area are relatively low, it is necessary to ensure a ‘safe rotation’ of staff. 

It comes after the Vienna-based UN body said Ukrainian authorities reported an attack on a nuclear facility in Kharkiv on Sunday – though no increase in radiation levels had been reported at the site.

Russian forces surrounded and seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant last month just days after their invasion of Ukraine began, and have since refused to let some 210 staff members leave the site. Pictured on Feb 26, 2022

Russian forces surrounded and seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant last month just days after their invasion of Ukraine began, and have since refused to let some 210 staff members leave the site. Pictured on Feb 26, 2022

Servicemen take part in a joint tactical and special exercises of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ukrainian National Guard and Ministry Emergency in a ghost city of Pripyat, near Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, February

Servicemen take part in a joint tactical and special exercises of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ukrainian National Guard and Ministry Emergency in a ghost city of Pripyat, near Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, February 

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