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Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant runner warns of possible catastrophe as attack continues

(Xinhua) 08:52, November 23, 2022

KIEV/MOSCOW, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis:

Russia is striving to achieve the goals of its special military operation in Ukraine, and toppling the current Ukrainian leadership is not one of the targets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a daily briefing on Monday.

He also called on all countries in the world to influence Ukraine to stop shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

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If Ukraine continues to shell the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP), a real nuclear catastrophe could occur, Renat Karchaa, adviser to the general director of the NPP's operating company Rosenergoatom, said on Monday.

The nuclear reactors in operation can't be cooled down if power supply is interrupted by artillery strikes, Karchaa told Russian media, voicing concern over possible radiation contamination as the dry storage site for spent nuclear fuel was under attack.

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Russia does not plan to deliver oil or oil products to countries that will introduce a price cap on Russian fuel, but will reorient its supplies to "market-oriented partners" or reduce production, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Monday.

"The price cap is precisely an act of unprecedented interference in the market principles, which will inevitably lead to a drop in investment and a shortage of supplies," he stressed.

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday that there were "no immediate nuclear safety or security concerns" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine despite intense shelling at the facility over the weekend.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog said in a statement that its experts at the Zaporizhzhia plant assessed the damage at the site earlier that day and found its "key equipment remained intact."

"The status of the six reactor units is stable, and the integrity of the spent fuel, the fresh fuel and the low, medium and high-level radioactive waste in their respective storage facilities was confirmed," the IAEA statement quoted its expert team as saying.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun)

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