Russian forces continue to shell Enerhodar, civilians prevented from evacuating – Enerhodar Mayor

TUESDAY, 30 AUGUST 2022, 20:30

Enerhodar Mayor Dmytro Orlov said that the Russian forces continue to relentlessly shell Enerhodar, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant’s (ZNPP) satellite city. Meanwhile, panic is spreading among the local residents.

Source: Dmytro Orlov in a comment for Radio Svoboda (Radio Liberty)

Quote from Orlov: "Today was more or less quiet, but the shelling continues day and night. Municipal infrastructure and residential neighbourhoods are all targets of [the Russian forces’] fire. Panic is spreading among the local residents who are urgently trying to evacuate the city for the territory controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But the occupiers put up obstacles in their way, preventing them from leaving."

Details: Orlov estimated that around half of Enerhodar’s 53,000 residents have left the city since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The majority of the ZNPP workers, however, remain in Enerhodar.

"They understand their responsibility towards the global and European community. Because there is no one other than them who would be able to put their professional skills to use to ensure nuclear and radiation security," the mayor of Enerhodar explained.

He added that the remaining residents of Enerhodar and the ZNPP staff hope that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission will draw "appropriate conclusions" following its visit to the power plant.

"Because using Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant as a battleground is truly a crime, which can have unimaginable global effects," Orlov emphasised.

Update from Ukrainska Pravda: RIA Novosti (RIA News), a Russian Kremlin-aligned media outlet, reported that Enerhodar was once again attacked on the evening of 30 August and claimed that the Ukrainian forces were the ones to fire on the city.

These events are unfolding against the backdrop of the expected arrival of the IAEA mission to the ZNPP on 31 August. Fourteen IAEA experts are set to travel to the power plant to assess the situation there.

Background:

• The Zaporizhzhia NPP and its satellite city Enerhodar have remained under Russian occupation since 4 March 2022.
• On 29 August, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said that the organisation’s mission set out for Ukraine in order to visit the ZNPP. The mission is expected to begin its work at the ZNPP in the coming days.
• On the morning of 30 August, 14 IAEA experts arrived in Kyiv.
• The IAEA mission will assess the safety of the ZNPP in light of the nuclear disaster concerns in relation to the intensification of attacks on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

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