New Delhi: Ukrainian authorities are reporting a rise of radiation levels at a particular place around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear power plant. According to reports multiple shells fell near the ash pits which caused some of the radioactive ash to get displaced over some parts of the plant.

However, the reading of radiation in the air is not stated in the report. The IAEA has reported that it had been told by Ukrainian authorities that laboratories and chemical facilities in the Zaporizhzhia region have been damaged by shelling over the weekend.

Ukraine has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that renewed shelling in recent days caused additional damage in the area of the country’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). They have once again highlighted the serious nuclear safety and security risks being faced by the facility. They have further underlined the urgent need for an IAEA expert mission to go there, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

Ukraine informed the IAEA that the shelling on Saturday (20 August) and Sunday (21 August) damaged ZNPP infrastructure including laboratory and chemical facilities, the Director General said.

In addition, Ukraine said shelling on Monday (22 August) damaged the transformers of the nearby thermal power plant, causing a disconnection of the power line linking this plant to the ZNPP lasting several hours before it was restored later the same day.

“These incidents show why the IAEA must be able to send a mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant very soon. I’m continuing to consult very actively and intensively with all parties so that this vital IAEA mission can take place without further delay. The IAEA’s presence will help stabilize the nuclear safety and security situation at the site and reduce the risk of a severe nuclear accident in Europe. The mission is expected to take place within the next few days if ongoing negotiations succeed” Director General Grossi said.

News reporter Shanon Vavra wrote on Twitter, “New: Russian shelling has raised radioactive dust clouds around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, resulting in elevated radiation levels nearby, according to a Ukrainian military intelligence alert.”

New: Russian shelling has raised radioactive dust clouds around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, resulting in elevated radiation levels nearby, according to a Ukrainian military intelligence alert.

— Shannon Vavra (@shanvav) August 23, 2022

She further wrote, “To be clear—and this is in the alert (linked above)—the alert is about ash pits of the thermal power plant, which is nearby the nuclear power plant, but is a non-nuclear power plant. There’s been shelling in multiple locations in recent days and the two could be confused.”

To be clear—and this is in the alert (linked above)—the alert is about ash pits of the thermal power plant, which is nearby the nuclear power plant, but is a non-nuclear power plant. There's been shelling in multiple locations in recent days and the two could be confused.

— Shannon Vavra (@shanvav) August 23, 2022