MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. A strike on an operating nuclear power plant is an unacceptable act that has catastrophe written all over it, regardless of whether radioactive material is released, Alexander Uvarov, a nuclear industry expert and director of the AtomInfo-Center told TASS, commenting on the strike on the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant site in Iran.

"A strike on an operating nuclear power plant is an unacceptable act that creates a direct threat to nuclear safety. In such situations, the question is not whether radiation has already been released, but that the attack itself creates a scenario for man-made disaster," the expert believes.

Any strike on a nuclear power plant, he noted, carries the risk of damaging power supply systems, cooling systems, communications, transportation infrastructure, and emergency response services. Even if the reactor isn’t directly affected, the consequences, according to Uvarov, could become critical if a number of failures converge. "We must call things by their proper names: firing at an operating nuclear power facility is an irresponsible act with potentially international consequences. An accident at a nuclear power plant won't remain an internal problem at a single site. In the worst-case scenario, this could result in radioactive contamination, evacuation of people, contamination of territories, and damage to the environment and the economy that lasts years. It’s a threat, the cost of which is incommensurate with any military or political goals," Uvarov emphasized.

Therefore, he noted, any strikes on areas where operating nuclear power plants are located should be viewed as crossing a dangerous red line. "There can be no excuses, reservations, or double interpretations here: an attack on a nuclear power plant directly creates the risk of a catastrophe. The international community must respond to such incidents with the utmost severity, as the consequences of one mistake or one further strike could extend far beyond the region and affect millions of people," the expert noted.

On Tuesday, CEO of the Rosatom State Corporation Alexey Likhachev reported that a strike had hit the area near the office of Iran’s Bushehr NPP’s meteorological service, in close proximity to an operating power unit. According to Likhachev, it was the first recorded strike on the nuclear power plant since the start of the conflict in the Middle East. No Rosatom employees were injured in the attack on the nuclear facility, and the radiation situation at the site is normal.