As a result of the war in Ukraine, Zaporizhzhya NPP has been at the epicentre of hostilities in recent days. At least three shells have been detected in the vicinity of the isotope storage facility near the plant, forcing workers to move to sheltered rooms. No contamination has been detected at the plant so far and the radioactive background is normal, but the risk of a large-scale accident due to military operations has increased manifold.

Zaporizhzhya NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and is located in the city of Energodar in the Zaporizhzhya region of Ukraine. The southern and central parts of this region, particularly Energodar and the territory of the plant itself, are controlled by Russian occupiers. Ukrainian operators and staff are working at the plant.

The Ukrainian authorities and the international community demand that Russia stop military operations in the area of the Zaporizhzhya NPP. UN Secretary General António Guterres also called for stopping any military activity around the Zaporizhzhya NPP: "The facility should not be used as part of any military operation. Instead, there should be an urgent agreement at the technical level on a safe demilitarization perimeter to secure the area," António Guterres said.

The USA also supports the idea of creating a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. In particular, White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre made such a call. The State Department called the fighting near the nuclear plant "dangerous and irresponsible" and again called on Russia to "stop military operations on or near Ukrainian nuclear facilities" and to transfer its territory to Kiev's control. "We support Ukraine's calls for a demilitarised zone around the nuclear plant," a US State Department spokesman told Reuters.

However, the Kremlin is against the demilitarisation of the zone around the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The UN Security Council at an emergency meeting convened at the initiative of Russia discussed the situation around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which has been under fire for several days. Vasily Nebenzya, Russian ambassador to the United Nations, accused the Ukrainian authorities of "pushing the world to the brink of a nuclear catastrophe comparable in scale to Chernobyl".

But diplomats from the US and other Western countries blamed Russia for the situation. According to them, if Russia had not sent troops into Ukraine, Europe's largest nuclear power plant would have been safe.

"Russia is the only one who instigated these risks (for the Zaporizhzhya NPP) by launching its full-scale invasion. And only it can eliminate the threat by withdrawing its troops from Ukraine," said US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins.
Kremlin propaganda tries to portray the victim of armed aggression, Ukraine, as well as the US, as "guilty" of a possible nuclear disaster:
" Kiev is trying to set up a new Chernobyl. Kiev is coordinating all strikes with the US. Solve this equation." - Margarita Simonyan provocatively wrote in her telegram channel.

I wonder why Margarita Simonyan never worried before that her compatriots have been blackmailing the entire region of South Caucasus with a new Chernobyl for many years. Indeed, some politicians in Armenia have already directly stated their intention to create a "dirty bomb" from the nuclear waste of the Metsamor nuclear power plant, and threatened to cause an accident at the nuclear power plant if the neighboring countries do not succumb to their blackmail.

Not to mention the fact that nuclear materials are illegally "spilling" out of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in all directions. Smugglers with radioactive materials smuggled out of Armenia have been repeatedly detained in Georgia. But no one knows how much nuclear material was smuggled to Iran, whose nuclear programme threatens security of the entire region.

Besides, Zaporizhzhya NPP itself is one of the most modern, most protected and safe nuclear power plants on the post-Soviet territory, where a lot of attention was paid to security issues. It must be reminded that Zaporizhzhya NPP units were put into operation in the years 1989-1996, when the Chernobyl experience was taken into account in full and increased attention was paid to the safety measures. In 2009. Zaporizhzhya NPP was declared fully compliant with the IAEA requirements.

Metsamor NPP, on the contrary, is both physically and morally obsolete, it has been under construction since 1969 and was commissioned in 1977.
If in terms of seismic hazard an earthquake just does not threaten Zaporizhzhia NPP, there has never been an underground shock stronger than 3-4 points, Metsamor NPP is located in an earthquake zone, where 9-10 point earthquakes are possible. And the threat of catastrophe in the area of Metsamor NPP even from an earthquake is much higher than the threat of catastrophe at Zaporozhye NPP as a result of military actions.

Along with demilitarization of Zaporizhzhya NPP with deployment of international forces there if possible, it is necessary to demilitarize Metsamor NPP in the same way. With a complete withdrawal from exploitation of this extremely dangerous plant and taking under full international control both the NPP, and its storehouse of spent nuclear fuel.

In Armenia there is a threat of receipt to power of revanchists who repeatedly said that they intend to use the Metsamor NPP as the factor of blackmail. Nor should we forget the danger of the plant in terms of the risk of Armenian terrorists creating a "dirty bomb".

Alexander Zakhariadze