Life in this Ukrainian city 'exhausting' with Russia in control of nuclear power plant

Living next to a nuclear power plant seized by Russian forces in the early days of their invasion of Ukraine is "exhausting," one Zaporizhzhia resident said.

Denys Vasyliev, who lives in the city with his wife and two sons, told CBC News all he can do is try to focus on the positive — but he's also always on guard for a potential disaster to strike.

"You should talk about the best scenario [in order] to keep on standing, to keep on [with] life and to believe in [a] better future," he told CBC News Network. 

But in remaining optimistic, he's prepared for the worst. He told CBC's Neil Herland his family purchased masks, about six months ago, to protect them from radioactive dust should an accident or attack happen at the plant.

Concern had heightened in recent days as both Ukraine and Russia have accused one another of planning an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has previously endured numerous missile strikes and power cuts that have made it impossible to operate the plant safely. Its six reactors have been shut down to minimize the threat of a disaster.

But for people like Vasyliev, there's a reason to always remain cautious. 

He was a child in 1986 when the meltdown happened at Ukraine's Chornobyl nuclear power plant — one of the world's worst nuclear catastrophes. He said he and other Ukrainians grew up learning what to do in the event of another nuclear accident. 

"And nowadays, this information [is] revisited and all the mass media are talking about the instructions [of] how to behave, what to do, what not to do, what to prepare, how to stay safe and calm and how should we be prepared for the worst situation," Vasyliev said.

Threat decreasing but not eliminated

Ukrainian spy chief Kyrylo Budanov told Reuters on Thursday the threat of an attack on the plant had eased — for now — though he declined to explain how or why the risk had eased.

But Budonaov said the risk could easily return as long as the facility remained under occupation by Moscow's forces.

On Saturday, his agency claimed Russian forces are continuing to plant anti-personnel mines in and around the power plant.

Earlier in the week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, citing intelligence reports, alleged that Russian troops placed "objects resembling explosives" atop several power units to "simulate" an attack as part of a false flag operation. The "foreign objects" were placed on the roof of the plant's third and fourth power units, the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog said this week it found no evidence of mines at the plant, but also admitted Russia had not granted the agency full access to the facility, including areas on the roof.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told The Associated Press that the IAEA had recently gained access to more of the site, including the cooling pond and fuel storage areas.

The Ukrainians had said the Russians had mined those areas, but the IAEA found they were not, Grossi said Friday after a visit to Japan's tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. 

The IAEA has been trying for more than a year to clinch a deal to ensure the plant is demilitarized and reduce the risks of any nuclear accident.

Risk remains until Russia leaves

A small number of IAEA inspectors have been stationed at the site since last fall September, when Russian President Vladimir Putin allowed the agency to have access to the occupied power plant. 

But their presence doesn't do much to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident happening as a result of an attack or further damage to infrastructure, according to Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear specialist with Greenpeace, nothing the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, last month, which was a vital water source for the nuclear plant and its cooling system.

"If the Russian military decides to do something catastrophic the IAEA's presence will not stop them. That's the fundamental problem here, Burnie told CBC's Herland in an interview from Castle Douglas, Scotland. 

He said the outcome of possible nuclear accident at Zaporizhizhia could range from an incident in which no radioactivity is released to a "major nuclear catastrophe and all scenarios in between." 

So long as the plant is occupied, Burnie said, Russia is just trying "to defend the indefensible" and putting the site – and everyone around it – at risk.

WATCH | IAEA's Grossi alarmed by the threat of nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia: 

'Enormous suffering' if Ukrainian plant fails, head of international atomic agency says

2 years ago

Duration 9:50

Rosemary Barton Live speaks with the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, who says he's alarmed by the threat of a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia power plant ahead of Ukraine's planned spring counteroffensive.