The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russian troops, was again on the verge of blackout due to shelling. The station is currently powered by only one power line.
Points of attention
- Zaporizhzhia NPP was on the verge of blackout due to Russian shelling, which leads to the disconnection of power transmission lines.
- The lack of external power poses a threat to the safe operation of the station and radiation safety.
- Returning control over the occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP to Ukraine can guarantee safe operation.
- Russian occupiers provoked a fire and a drone strike at the Zaporizhia NPP, highlighting the threat to energy security.
- IAEA experts are investigating incidents at the station and discovering damage caused by shelling and a drone explosion.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP was again on the verge of blackout
According to the Ministry of Energy, on October 21 at 12:18, one of the two power transmission lines connecting the temporarily occupied nuclear power plant with the energy system of Ukraine was disconnected due to constant enemy shelling.
Because of this, the external power supply of the station, necessary for its safe operation, is again at risk. The Ministry of Energy noted that in the event of a complete shutdown of the external power supply, the station may be in a blackout state, which poses a risk for radiation safety.
Power engineers plan to restore power to the station as soon as the situation allows.
Only the return of control over the occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP to Ukraine can guarantee the safe operation of Europe's largest nuclear power plant, the Ministry of Energy noted.
The Russian army set fire to the ZNPP
On August 11, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the Russian occupiers had set a fire on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. He called on the IAEA and the world community to respond to the incident.
At the same time, there were no changes in the radiation state in the Zaporizhzhya NPP area.
Yevhen Yevtushenko, the head of the Nikopol RVA, said that the ZNPP is working normally, and the Russians probably set fire to a large number of car tires in the cooling towers. Cooling tower number one is located approximately one kilometer from the power units of the station.
Instead, the Russian occupiers blamed Ukraine for the shelling of Energodar and declared that the radiation background around the ZNPP was normal.
Subsequently, IAEA experts inspected the cooling tower after the fire at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. However, they could not establish the cause of the fire.
On August 18, representatives of the IAEA reported that there was a drone strike at the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, which took place outside the station's security zone.
According to preliminary reports, the drone exploded near the cooling ponds, about 100 meters from the Dnipro transmission line, which is the only 750-kilovolt line that supplies power to the ZNPP.
An IAEA team that surveyed the incident site found damage likely caused by a drone explosion.
