Russia starts building 'protective dome' at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russia has started installing a “protective dome” over the nuclear waste storage at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, an official said on Saturday.

Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest and one of the world’s 10 biggest nuclear power plants, has been under Russian control since March, soon after the start of the Ukraine war.

Fears of a nuclear catastrophe persist amid reports of shelling around the area.

Vladimir Rogov, a pro-Russia official in Zaporizhzhia who heads the We Are Together movement, said work is underway to put up a “protective dome” over the plant’s storage site for nuclear waste.

“For now, it will protect against shrapnel and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) dropped from drones. In the future, it will be more substantial,” he wrote on Telegram.

In a separate statement, Russia’s state-owned nuclear operator Rosenergoatom also announced the start of construction to set up a “safety cushion” to shield the nuclear waste storage site.