“We are preparing very carefully for every scenario that may arise. Some training is being done. We are working according to the procedures we have in place,” Danilov said at a news conference, according to Ukraine’s Ukrinform news agency.
The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine stressed that, in the event of a Russian attack on the centre, the international community must respond immediately and firmly.
“If, God forbid, such events happen, then we should talk about the kind of world we live in, when a terrorist country can launch a nuclear attack against a country that has nothing to do with it”he added.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky recently warned that Russia may be planning an offensive against Zaporijia with the aim of causing a nuclear accident, as part of the offensive it launched against Ukraine on February 24 last year.
“Russia’s existence within the borders in which it exists today poses a threat to the entire civilized world. And the events that have taken place there in recent days with the participation of the [grupo mercenário] Wagner indicates that this is a country without control,” he said.
Regarding the Wagner Group, Danilov stressed that it is a terrorist organization and warned that its members are “allowed to travel outside of Russia”, something that should alert the international community.
Dozens of civilians took part in an exercise on the outskirts of the town of Zaporijia, about 100 kilometers from the nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe.
In a tent set up to administer initial treatments, rescuers practiced washing people with soap and performing procedures for administering treatments to potential victims of radiation exposure, according to the Associated Press (AP) agency description. affected areas.
Russia occupied the unit in the first moments of the war. It became a major issue of global concern last year when Russia and Ukraine accused each other of bombing nuclear facilities.
Ukraine’s military intelligence recently claimed, without providing evidence, that Russia is planning a “massive provocation” at the nuclear power plant in the southeast of the country.
If something were to happen at the factory, people from radiation-contaminated areas would be transported to a place where they would receive medical and psychological help, emergency services let the AP know.
The next step would be a temporary center where people are washed to remove the radiation from the body surface and then transported to evacuation points.
When the threat of an accident arose for the unit last year, Ukraine established a crisis response headquarters and several exercises have been conducted since then.
According to the emergency services, in the event of a nuclear disaster, about 300,000 people would be required to be evacuated from the areas closest to the facilities, which would cover four regions: Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Zaporijia and Mykolaiv.
People could bring their pets with them, according to the services. Buses, trains and personal cars would be used for evacuation from the affected area.
Depending on the wind direction and the spread of the radiation, people would be driven to safer areas in Ukraine.
“There are several scenarios, but we are preparing for the most critical ones,” said Yurii Vlasenko, Ukraine’s deputy energy minister.
Source: DN
