Nuclear power plants in Ukraine remain a critical issue. The former nuclear power plant in Chernobyl is again without power. There are also uncertainties about the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
According to the Ukrainian operator Ukrenerho, the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant is again without power.
The line that supplies the plant and the nearby town of Slavutych north of Kyiv was damaged by Russian forces, the operator said. Ukrenerho called the Russians occupiers.
Chernobyl area controlled by Russia
Only the evening before, Ukrainian specialists repaired the high-voltage power line in the area controlled by Russian troops. Now the experts would have to go there again, it said. There was initially no comment from the Russian side.
In the first incident, the Ukrainians reported that power lines had been damaged by Russian shelling. Russia, for its part, blamed Ukrainian «nationalists».
A devastating nuclear accident happened in Chernobyl in 1986. The destroyed reactor has been built over with a large dome. Radioactive waste is still stored there today.
Report of explosions near Zaporizhia NPP
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian troops blew up parts of an ammunition depot not far from the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The explosion happened near the ruins of a military training center, Ukrainian nuclear power operator Enerhoatom said on Telegram. The information could not be independently verified. There was initially no comment from the Russian side. Enerhoatom said that the staff at the power plant had stopped working because of the explosion. It is not yet known whether the radiation exposure has changed as a result of the incident.
At the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which was occupied by Russian troops, there was recently a lack of clarity as to who was responsible for operation and safety. Enerhoatom reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the nuclear power plant was “under the control of the commander of the Russian armed forces”. The Russian state-owned company Rosatom, on the other hand, denied having taken over operational control in an exchange with the IAEA.
IAEA: Nuclear Safety Violated
The current situation violates one of the seven essential pillars of nuclear safety, warned IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Saturday evening. This is the pillar “Operations personnel must be able to perform their safety responsibilities and make decisions free from undue pressure”.
Grossi has expressed grave concern about the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities. The IAEA is ready to help on the ground, but this presupposes an urgently needed agreement on the safety of nuclear facilities between Russia and Ukraine. Grossi spoke about this on Thursday in Antalya, Turkey, with the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov and Dmytro Kuleba.
Source: Stern
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