There Is A Warning From The Head Of The IAEA: More Than 1,600 People Evacuated From The Near Area Of The Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, Including 660 Children

The impact of the Russian attack on Zaporizhia. (Wikimedia Commons/National Police of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - About 1,679 people, including 660 children, have been evacuated from areas near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (PLTN), said an official stationed by Moscow in the Zaporizhia region, Ukraine, controlled by Russia.

This was done after the head of the UN nuclear watchdog warned last weekend that the situation around the nuclear power plant could potentially be dangerous.

Ukraine itself is expected to start a long-awaited retaliatory attack, to retake Russian-controlled territory, including in the Zaporizhia region.

"(The refugees) have been placed in temporary accommodation centers for residents in the frontline region of the Zaporizhia region in Berdiansk," Yevgeny Balitsky, governor appointed by Moscow in Russia-controlled Zaporizhia region, told Reuters on May 8.

Berdiansk itself is the southeastern port city of Ukraine on the coast of the Azov Sea, which Russia has occupied since the beginning of the Moscow invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Earlier, the Governor, who was sworn in by Russia in the Zaporizhia region, Ukraine, which is controlled by Moscow, said on Friday he had ordered the evacuation of villages close to the front lines, as shootings had escalated in the area in recent days.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi warned the situation around PLTN Zaporizhia is potentially dangerous, calling for steps to ensure safe operation from Europe's largest nuclear plant.

"The general situation in areas near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and has the potential to be dangerous," Grossi said on the body's website last Saturday.

"I am deeply concerned about the very real security and nuclear safety risks the PLTN is facing. We must act now to prevent the threat of severe nuclear accidents and the consequences associated with the population and environment," Grossi explained.

Yesterday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said residents were evacuated towards Berdiansk and Prymorsk on the coast of the Azov Sea.

It is known that Russian troops occupied PLTN Zaporizhia a few days after President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Gunfights often occur near the facility, with each side blaming each other.