Hanging by a ‘thread,’ staff exodus risks safety at Ukraine nuclear plant

She had kept working at the Zaporizhzhia complex for months after it was stormed by the Russians in March, among hundreds of Ukrainian workers effectively kept hostage to enable the power station ​– the largest nuclear power plant in Europe — ​to keep running. But eventually, the constant explosions and fears for her young son’s life made her take the risk to leave. “It’s scary,” Elena told CNN. “Everything explodes there.” CNN agreed to use only Elena’s first name out of respect for her safety concerns.​The Ukrainians have accused the Russian troops of using the plant as a shield, and risking serious damage or a potential disaster at the plant. In response, the Kremlin has repeatedly claimed Ukrainian forces are shelling the plant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during an address to the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Russia had “put the world on the brink of radiation catastrophe” by turning the plant into a “war zone,” and called for demilitarization of the plant. “At night (the Russians) are firing somewhere behind the reservoir,” Elena said. “There are many, many explosions at the same time, like big cars firing.” “The human psychological state can lead to accidents,” Daria said. “At plants like ours, it’s not really the equipment that is to blame. What matters here are people, their decisions, their reactions to signals, to any violations, to any damage.” The IAEA is currently negotiating with Russia for an urgent inspection of the nuclear plant to assess the safety of the operation. But Daria said she thinks “nothing will change” even if this happens. “My only hope is the Ukrainian army,” Daria said, but she fears what the Russians will do if they arrive. “They are so fond of saying ‘we will destroy you,’ and they already have their orders for that. That’s why people leave.”