MELITOPOL, January 9. /TASS/. The situation around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), which has been repeatedly attacked by the Ukrainian armed forces since coming under Russian control in 2022, is pointing to the necessity of developing new standards for ensuring the safety and security of nuclear facilities, Renat Karchaa, adviser to the CEO of Russian state nuclear power corporation Rosenergoatom, told TASS.

The energy official noted that existing regulations and instructions do not contain any provisions on nuclear facilities functioning under the conditions of aggression with the use of heavy weapons against an NPP.

"Above all, [it is necessary] to introduce additional technological protection measures in the [current] standards, rules and regulations, including to cover cases of the use of force by means of artillery fire, as well as the enhancement of security measures for what we have been calling the physical perimeter. The first part involves additional technical protection measures, while the second part is what we are calling actions by responsible personnel in the event that such threats emerge. These are the new standards," Karchaa said.

He also noted that it is necessary to reconsider the security of storage systems at the NPP. "The nuclear reactors themselves are located in super-protected facilities, from the point of view of durability, but there are cases where nuclear materials are being stored in vulnerable facilities. In my opinion, it is necessary to reconsider the protocol for storing fissionable materials, including nuclear fuel or spent materials. Practice shows that there is certain vulnerability because plants were not intended to be subject to [heavy weapons] strikes. The same goes for the cooling system, not from the point of view of reconsidering its operations, but from the point of view of protecting it," the official stressed.

All processes occurring around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant should be re-analyzed, he added. The official gave high marks to the existing safety and security measures, highlighting the significant role played by the Russian Armed Forces. "What could have nuclear experts done on their own from the point of view of ensuring security if not for the military? The facility is duly protected. The [Russian Armed Forces’] Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces are playing a very serious role in ensuring this," Karchaa noted.

Located in Energodar, the Zaporozhye nuclear facility, with roughly 6GW of capacity, is the largest of its kind in Europe. Russia took control of the plant on February 28, 2022, in the first days of its special military operation in Ukraine. Since then, units of the Ukrainian army have periodically conducted shelling both of residential districts in nearby Energodar and the premises of the nuclear plant itself, by means of drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).