Zelenskyy sounds alarm over unprecedented power outage at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant | Nuclear power
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russian, left the grill for seven plain days and warned the potential threat of a “critical” situation.
Russia has been the longest deduction in Zaporizhzhia since it occupied and seized the nuclear power plant in Europe.
Zelenskyy said the Russian bombing prevents the restoration of a power line to cool the reactors and prevent melting.
The President of the UN nuclear guard dog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said he was working with both sides to restore the external power line. Rafael Grossi said that there is no danger as long as diesel generators provide emergency power for the facility as long as they are in operation.
Zelenskyy speaks in it night video addressHe said that one of the diesel generators, which provides emergency power, no longer worked seven days after the external power lines fall.
Zelenskyy, “This is the seventh day. Zaporizhzhia facility has never been such an emergency. The situation is critical. The Russian bombardment cut the plant from the electricity network,” he said.
Zaporizhzhia factory, the largest in Europe with six reactors, was seized by Russian troops in the first weeks of Russia’s occupation of 2022 Ukraine, and both sides regularly accuse other attacks that endanger nuclear security. Located near the city of Enerhodar along the Dnipro River, the power plant is close to the façade.
It currently does not produce any electricity, but the reactors need power to keep the fuel remain cool and the melting does not occur. Since the beginning of the conflict, on the occasion of the 10th occasion that the facility was separated from the power network.
Zelenskyy: “This is a threat to everyone. No terrorist in the world dare to be related to a nuclear power plant that Russia is currently doing. And the world is not silent.”
In a statement published late on Tuesday, Grossi said that “the facility is in constant contact with the two sides to ensure that it is reconnected quickly to the electricity network”.
“The plant is currently urgent diesel generators – the last defense line – and as long as they continue to work, it is not clearly sustainable for nuclear security, even though they are not immediately dangerous,” he said.
“Both sides will not benefit from a nuclear accident.”
Grossi said that both sides prevent military activities from making the necessary repairs. He said that the plant runs eight diesel generators, in nine units waiting mode and three maintenance.
Orum I strongly encourage both sides to work with us and to ensure the realization of these basic repairs, ”he said.
Russian officials did not comment on the latest statements about the conditions in the facility.
Grossi repeatedly called on both sides to maintain nuclear security. The IAEA monitors are permanently placed in Zaporizhzhia and three other nuclear power plants of Ukraine.
With Reuters and Agency France-Presse
