SEVASTOPOL, June 26. /TASS/. Ukraine strikes radiation monitoring posts around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to pursue psychological and political goals, said Yury Braslavsky, associate professor at Sevastopol State University, told TASS.
It was reported earlier that Ukrainian forces hit a radiation monitoring post of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Velikaya Znamenka, completely demolishing it. The plant's specialists made efforts to enure that the radiation level is still being continuously monitored. The level remains within natural boundaries.
"That post near the ZNPP is not just one of its kind: There is a whole network of them. They are set up around each of such facilities in the extraordinary event that there is a potential spread of radiation. In case of an accident, radiation will spread not in one, but in all directions, which means that any NPP is surrounded by these posts. Destruction of one such post, as in this case, does not pose any real threat. It will be quickly restored. It is not a challenging operation from a technical perspective, provided there is certain equipment, which ZNPP does have. There will be no negative consequences for the environment either," Braslavsky, associate professor at the university's Nuclear Reactors Department, told TASS.
But the situation might seem unclear to people that are not closely involved with the nuclear industry, he said. According to the analyst, that is what Ukraine bet on when it destroyed the facility.
"This is about stoking tensions. People who are far from the nuclear power industry, when they hear that something - no matter what - has been destroyed at ZNPP, may succumb to panic, especially if news media - our own or the enemy's - report the incident. In reality, I repeat, there is no threat. Nothing critical happened," he said.
He also said the purpose of destroying the radiation monitoring post could be political.
"Maybe they are looking for an excuse to say that Russia allegedly does not control radiation situation around the ZNPP. They could say: Look, there are no posts there. In any case, this is purely a media move," the analyst said.
The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is Europe’s largest operating NPP. The closest town is Energodar, which is home to ZNPP staff and their family members. On February 28, 2022, the Russian Armed Forces took control of the plant during the special military operation in Ukraine.