Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses external power for second time in five days
The Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant surrounded by Russian troops has lost all external power needed for vital safety systems for the second time in five days, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said.
Backup diesel generators are keeping nuclear safety and security equipment operational.
External power from the diesel operators is essential not just to cool the two reactors still in operation but also the spent radioactive fuel stored in special facilities onsite.
Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom said on Telegram that a Russian missile attack on the substation “Dniprovska” in the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region to the north was damaged, leading to the shutdown of a key communication line to the plant - prompting the diesel generators to turn on automatically.
“This repeated loss of [the nuclear power plant's] off-site power is a deeply worrying development and it underlines the urgent need for a nuclear safety & security protection zone around the site,” International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi tweeted.
Last week, Russia launched seven missiles at residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, killing one person and trapping at least five.
It came after the Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree declaring that Moscow was taking over the six-reactor plant.
Several Ukraine towns and cities were pounded with strikes on Monday as the Russian president appeared to retaliate for an attack on a key bridge from Russia to annexed Crimea.
At least 14 people are known to have died and about 100 injured in the attacks on several regions.
The blasts also knocked out power, plunging much of the country into a blackout. The shortages are so severe, Ukraine warned it would stop power exports to Europe from Tuesday.
Five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia have been arrested over Saturday’s attack that damaged the Kerch Bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, the Federal Security Service (FSB), said on Wednesday.
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was cut off from the electrical grid for the first time in August after fires damaged the only working transmission line.
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The plant was forced to rely on emergency diesel operators to run cooling systems that are essential for the safe operation of the reactors.
Europe's largest nuclear plant has been occupied by Russian forces since the early days of the war in Ukraine, and continued fighting near the facility has heightened fears of a catastrophe.
Ukraine cannot shut down its nuclear plants during the war because it is heavily reliant on them, and its 15 reactors at four stations provide about half of its electricity.
The April 26, 1986, explosion and fire at one of four reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear plant north of Kyiv sent a cloud of radioactive material across a wide swath of Europe and beyond. In addition to fuelling anti-nuclear sentiment in many countries, the disaster left deep psychological scars on Ukrainians.