Bombings last week near a nuclear reactor in Zaporizhia (south) prompted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to warn of the "very real risk of nuclear disaster", while kyiv accused Moscow of "nuclear terrorism".
Fears of an accident have revived painful memories of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Soviet Ukraine, which killed hundreds and spread radioactive contamination across Europe.
- Story -
Located near the town of Energodar on the Dnipro (Dniepr in Russian) river, the plant has six of Ukraine's 15 reactors, capable of supplying four million homes.
The reactors were all commissioned between 1984 and 1995, according to Ukraine's state agency Energoatom, which runs the country's nuclear power plants.
The six Soviet-designed VVER-1000 reactors have a total generating capacity of nearly 6,000 megawatts.
Before the war, the plant produced about a fifth of Ukraine's electricity. The country, which has large reserves of uranium, is the seventh largest producer of nuclear energy in the world, according to the IAEA.
Then a Soviet republic, Ukraine began developing nuclear power in the 1970s with the construction of Chernobyl, near the capital kyiv, and made major improvements in nuclear safety over the years after the Chernobyl disaster. .
The Zaporizhia plant is "relatively modern", says Mark Wenman of Imperial College London, noting that the reactor components are located inside a heavily reinforced containment building that can "withstand external shocks extremes, both natural and man-made", such as a plane crash or explosions.
- Seizure -
The plant, located not far from the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea (south) annexed by Moscow in 2014, came under the control of Russian troops on March 4, shortly after the start of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
During the fighting, the Russian army opened fire on buildings on the site, already raising fears of a major nuclear accident. Firefighters were blocked from accessing the site to reach the blaze for hours.
The plant is operated by Ukrainian employees.
Three of the six reactors were operational in early August. One of the three was arrested following bombings on August 5 that damaged a high voltage line, triggering this arrest.
The IAEA has repeatedly stated that it wishes to organize an inspection of the Zaporizhia power plant. The Ukrainian authorities initially opposed it, judging that such a visit would legitimize the Russian occupation. They are less categorical in recent days.
- New strikes -
On July 21, Ukraine accused Moscow of deploying heavy weapons at the plant after Russia said Ukrainian troops fired on the facility. According to Energoatom, Russia has moved dozens of military equipment and ammunition into the engine room of the first reactor.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Moscow of using the plant as "a military base to fire on the Ukrainians, knowing that they cannot and will not return fire".
On August 5, Ukraine accused Russian forces of carrying out strikes near a reactor. Russia said Ukraine was behind the strikes.
Ukraine, which says there are around 500 Russian troops at the plant, has called for the creation of a demilitarized zone.
Despite the tensions, Energoatom claims to be still in contact with the site and to receive radiation monitoring data. He said on Monday there had been no change in radiation levels.
