WASHINGTON, May 23. /TASS/. The United States is providing the Kiev government with equipment and training to respond to a possible nuclear emergency, National Nuclear Security Administration Jill Hruby told the US Senate Committee on Armed Services.
According to the readout of her address, Washington is "working to reduce nuclear risks in Ukraine."
"This includes providing equipment, training, and technical guidance to enable the safe and secure operation of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants remaining under its control, protect its critical infrastructure, particularly the electric grid, provide situational awareness of any nuclear emergency that occurs in the country, and enhance the emergency preparedness and response capacity of our Ukrainian partners to respond to a nuclear event," Hruby said.
On Wednesday, the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP)’s communications director Yevgeniya Yashina told TASS that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had already been informed about the Ukrainian attacks targeting the ZNPP and the city of Energodar.
Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian armed forces attacked the ZNPP transport workshop territory with a kamikaze drone. No injuries or critical damage was caused. In addition, the city of Energodar, where the power plant is located, was attacked repeatedly in the past two days, with residential buildings and social facilities being targeted.
The six-reactor, six-gigawatt Zaporozhye NPP, located in the city of Energodar, is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Russian forces took control of the facility in late February 2022. Since then, the Ukrainian army has periodically shelled both residential areas in Energodar and the premises of the power plant using drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).