War on Ukraine: concerns about Zaporizhia NPP

A fire damaged the last remaining power line at Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, and power was temporarily cut off. Local citizens worry about a nuclear accident.

The largest nuclear power plant in Europe near Zaporizhia is located in Enerhodar. A telegram video from there attracted attention on Thursday. It is said to have been taken by citizens of the Russian-occupied small town. The quality is lousy – but the message is clear.

“We are citizens of the city of Enerhodar,” the hooded men say in a strange voice, “and we turn to you in desperation.” They all work in the occupied nuclear power plant and are held hostage by Russian soldiers who terrorize them.

The three men and a woman are standing in front of a light-colored wall covered in bullets. Enerhodar is written on it in red. Ukraine fears that Russia could cut the nuclear power plant from the Ukrainian grid and divert power to occupied Crimea.

Disconnected from the mains

The Ukrainian nuclear regulatory agency Enerhoatom made a worrying statement on Thursday: The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid. As a result of a fire, the fourth and last connection line between the power plant and the Ukrainian energy system was damaged. The three other lines had previously been destroyed by Russian fire.

However, the automation and security systems are currently not disrupted, Enerhoatom said on the Telegram messenger service. The nuclear power plant’s own electricity requirements are now covered by the Ukrainian energy system.

Only two out of six reactor blocks connected to the grid

The Ukrainian energy expert Hennady Ryabtsev sees it this way in an initial assessment: “The temporary interruption of the power supply should not lead to further negative consequences in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The automatic protection system reacted and it was temporarily disconnected from the power supply.”

In Zaporizhia, only two out of a total of six reactor units were currently connected to the grid. A representative of the Russian occupiers on site stated that one of these two was now running again.

Hours of power outage

Before that, the power had gone out for hours in the Russian-occupied cities of Enerhodar, Melitopol and Cherson. The water supply is said to have been interrupted.

This was also confirmed by the Russian occupation authorities. The reason for this is “provocations by Zelenskyj’s fighters”. The power supply in the affected cities has now been restored, reports the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

Mutual allegations from Moscow and Kyiv

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located on the Dnieper River and the opposite side is unoccupied. Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the shelling of the facility.

The often shelled town of Nikopol lies on the unoccupied side of the riverbank and had power on Thursday. Miroslav Zhukovsky works there in the local history museum. Still, he’s worried:

IAEA wants to send experts to the nuclear power plant

Representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been trying to get to the plant for months. Both Ukraine and Russia agree in principle – but the organization and arrival logistics are already a political issue.

People would just disappear from the streets, they didn’t dare to go shopping and fetch water, meanwhile the four citizens of Enerhodar say in the video. The Russians would fire on the nuclear facility. “Please,” they plead, “please liberate our city!”