(CNN) The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has raised concerns as to the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, describing the situation as “increasingly unpredictable,” after Moscow ordered the evacuation of residents from Russian-occupied areas close to the facility.
More than 1,600 people, including 660 children, have been evacuated from Russian-occupied towns on the front lines in Zaporizhzhia, Yevgeniy Balitskiy, the Russia-appointed acting head of Zaporizhzhia region administration, said Monday.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station, is held by Russian forces but mostly operated by a Ukrainian workforce.
The town of Enerhodar was among 18 settlements whose residents were evacuated over the weekend. Most of the plant’s staff live in the town, the International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement.
Grossi said he was deeply concerned about the “increasingly tense, stressful, and challenging conditions” for personnel and their families and about “the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant.”
“We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences for the population and the environment,” Grossi warned.
The evacuation of the town come amid rumors of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive, with the southern region likely to be a major target as Kyiv seeks to push back Moscow’s invasion.
The site director Yuri Chernichuk said operating staff are not being evacuated and “are doing everything necessary to ensure nuclear safety and security at the plant.”
Chernichuk said the plant’s six reactors are all in shutdown mode and its equipment is being maintained, “in accordance with all necessary nuclear safety and security regulations,” according to Grossi.
The plant’s position on the front lines — located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river — means shelling in the surrounding towns and near the facility is common, according to local reports.
It has frequently been disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid due to intense Russian shelling in the area, repeatedly raising fears across Europe of a nuclear accident.
The plant is also significant because Ukraine relies heavily on nuclear power. Should Russia keep it, Ukraine would lose 20% of its domestic electricity generating capacity. Analysts have said Russia would want to capture the plant undamaged, with hopes of serving its own electricity market.
The IAEA said experts at the site continue to hear shelling on a regular basis, including late on Friday.
Claims of Russian soldiers evacuating as civilians
The evacuations, which began in Zaporizhzhia on Friday, were a “necessary measure” due to “intensified shelling of settlements” close to the front line, said Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-appointed acting governor of the partially occupied region.
Local Telegram channels reported sightings of evacuation buses and authorities telling residents to pack…
Read More: Zaporizhzhia: Evacuations from Russian-occupied Ukrainian region raise concerns