Since the beginning of the conflict, Ukrainians, Russians and Europeans have been scrutinizing a hot spot with particular attention: the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporozhye. On Thursday, following massive Russian strikes across Ukraine, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which is occupied by the Russian army, was cut off from the Ukrainian electricity grid, said the Ukrainian public operator Energoatom.
“Currently, the central […] has gone into ”black-out” mode for the sixth time since the occupation, the reactors of units 5 and 6 have been put (shutdown) cold”, added Energoatom, leaving the risk of an incident similar to that of Fukushima.
” [Les générateurs de secours] have enough fuel for ten days”
The operator specifies that 18 emergency diesel generators have been switched on to ensure the minimum power supply to the plant. “They have enough fuel for ten days. The countdown has begun”, emphasizes Energoatom.
“If it is not possible to renew the power plant’s external power supply, an accident with radioactive consequences for the whole world could take place”, warns the operator.
For its part, the Russian occupation administration which manages the plant confirmed that the emergency diesel generators had been activated, but it claimed that this measure was due to a “short circuit” on another power line, without specify the causes. “All the security systems worked normally”, assured this source on Telegram.
The Russian army occupied this huge nuclear complex in southern Ukraine as early as March 4, 2022, nine days after the start of its invasion. The plant, which previously produced 20% of Ukraine’s electricity, continued to operate for the first months of the invasion, despite periods of bombardment, before being shut down in September.
Since then, none of its six Soviet-era VVER-1000 reactors have been generating power, but the facility remains connected to Ukraine’s energy system to allow nuclear particle stability.