Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant disconnected from power grid for second day after
“The station’s own needs for power supply are currently provided through a repaired line from the energy system of Ukraine,” Energoatom said in a statement Friday.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said backup diesel generators were “immediately activated” at the plant to avert a “radiation disaster.”
“The world must understand what a threat this is: If the diesel generators hadn’t turned on, if the automation and our staff of the plant had not reacted after the blackout, then we would already be forced to overcome the consequences of the radiation accident,” Zelensky said during his nightly address.
The generators are installed to supply power to cooling pumps to stop the fuel from overheating in the event of an electricity blackout.
“Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster,” Zelensky said, adding that officials from the IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, must be given urgent access to the site.
In a statement Thursday, Energoatom said fires at a nearby thermal power plant caused the nuclear plant’s last remaining electricity power line to disconnect twice. The plant’s three other lines had been “lost earlier during the conflict” it added.
Energoatom blamed Russia for the disconnection. “The actions of the invaders caused a complete disconnection of the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant) from the power grid — the first in the history of the plant.”
Ukraine’s energy minister Herman Halushchenko said on Thursday that the continued presence of Russian forces at and near the plant is a “constant trigger of a possible nuclear disaster.”
“Today’s events are yet another vivid confirmation of that,” he said, adding: “Who is ready to take responsibility for tomorrow’s security?”
Halushchenko appealed to the international community to ensure nuclear safety, saying that “urgent de-occupation and demilitarization of the ZNPP is the only way for Europe to sleep peacefully and not be afraid of nuclear clouds in its sky.”
An administrative worker at the plant told CNN Friday that with “shelling around the station and the city, smoke from fires, dust from the ash dump of a thermal power plant” that the “situation sometimes looks like the end of the world.”
“It’s really tough when there are strong winds,” the worker, who has spoken with CNN on previous occasions and whose identity is not being disclosed for their security, added.
The nuclear plant, which is Europe’s largest, has been under Russian control since March. Clashes around the complex have sparked widespread concern and fears of a disaster.
Ukraine has accused Russian troops of using the plant as a shield, risking a potential disaster at the plant. The Kremlin has in turn repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the plant.
The Russian-installed regional governor blamed Ukrainian military action for the outages, and added “work was underway to restore the power supply to the region and launch the second power unit.”
Negotiations are…
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