Families evacuated from Russia-held regions in Ukraine amid fears of nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia plant

Tensions continue to rise between Ukraine and Russia as Moscow has ordered the evacuation of families with children and the elderly from areas in southern Ukraine that are held by Russia. The evacuation is due to the increase in shelling from the Ukrainian side, which has intensified in recent days.

Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed head of the Zaporizhzhia region, announced the evacuation on social media. He stated that the decision was made to prioritize the safety of vulnerable groups such as children, parents, elderly people, disabled people, and hospital patients.

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"There will be a temporary evacuation from 18 places," Balitsky wrote, "including the town of Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is located." The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is Europe's largest and has been held by Russia since the beginning of the conflict. It is now near the front line, and its proximity to the fighting has caused international concern.

Major dam damaged in southern Ukraine

In addition to the shelling, a Russian official has warned that record-high water levels could overwhelm a major dam in southern Ukraine and damage parts of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station. Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the general director of nuclear energy firm Rosenergoatom, said that if the Nova Kakhovka dam did rupture, the power cable line for the Zaporizhzhia plant's pumping stations would be flooded.This would create functional problems for the operation of the plant and risks for nuclear safety.

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"Both sides have accused each other of planning to breach the dam using explosives, which would flood much of the area downstream and would likely cause major destruction around Kherson," Karchaa said.

The situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been a cause for concern for several months.

In late March, Ukrainian officials had expressed concern that the plant could face a shortage of water to cool its reactors by late summer because Russian forces had let water out of a reservoir that supplied the plant.

Russian troops took over the plant as they invaded parts of Ukraine last year, and it has been at the centre of a nuclear security crisis due to near-constant shelling in its vicinity, which Kyiv and Moscow blame on each other.

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