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Ukraine Says Russian-Controlled Nuclear Plant Shut Down, Disconnected From Grid

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service August 25, 2022

Ukrainian authorities said the last two working reactors at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant were shut down due to fires and damaged power lines, heightening fears of a potential accident as the facility was temporarily disconnected from Ukraine's electricity grid for the first time.

The August 25 announcement by the state energy operator Enerhoatom came as foreign officials warned of a potential catastrophe and continue to push Russian and Ukrainian forces to do more to safeguard Europe's largest nuclear station.

Russia has controlled the facility since about two weeks after invading Ukraine on February 24, but it has allowed Ukrainian engineers to remain and operate the plant, whose first reactor went into operation in 1985.

Fighting near the plant between Russian and Ukrainian forces has stoked worries of an accident. Ukrainian officials have also warned Russia might try to disconnect the plant from the grid, a move that would severely strain Ukraine's battered economy, particularly with winter looming. The plant supplied over 20 percent of Ukraine's electricity needs before the war.

"The actions of the invaders caused a complete disconnection of the [facility] from the power grid -- the first in the history of the plant," Enerhoatom said in a post on Telegram.

Disconnecting the plant is considered potentially dangerous as a failure in backup power systems could lead to a loss of coolant and bring about a melting of the fuel in the reactor core.

In a later statement, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Ukrainian authorities informed it that the last regular power line supplying electricity to the plant was working again after having been cut earlier.

The power line that was apparently affected is different from the one that carries power to run cooling systems for the reactors. A loss of power in those supply lines is a major concern of experts closely watching the situation at the plant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later said that diesel generators had turned on during the power outrage, helping to avoid any prolonged interruption in power supply.

Adding further worries is the fact that some of the radioactive ash heaps on the plant's grounds have been set ablaze by shelling, sending potentially radioactive smoke and dust into the air. Ukraine's military intelligence agency on August 23 accused Russia of purposely striking the ash heaps, and said the smoke was drifting toward the nearby city of Enerhodar.

New satellite imagery taken on August 24 and obtained exclusively by Schemes, an investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, showed plumes of smoke drifting over the territory of the plant.

The Enerhoatom announcement came on the same day the head of the IAEA said Kyiv and Moscow both agree that the UN watchdog's personnel need to go to inspect the situation at Zaporizhzhya.

Speaking to France 24 TV on August 25, Rafael Grossi said talks on gaining access to the facility were making headway and that "we are very, very close" to agreeing on a visit.

The Zaporizhzhya plant has six Soviet-designed reactors, but just two have remained in operation amid the fighting.

"Russia should agree to the demilitarized zone around the plant and agree to allow an International Atomic Energy Agency visit as soon as possible to check on the safety and security of the system," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on August 25.

The White House also said President Joe Biden spoke with Zelenskiy on August 25, congratulating the country on its 31st anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union, and reaffirming "the United States' continued support for Ukraine."

As the Russian invasion entered its seventh month, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree increasing the size of the country's armed forces by 13 percent, or 137,000 troops, to 1.15 million.

There was no immediate explanation of the reason for the decree, which will come into force on January 1, and the order did not specify whether the increase would be accomplished by widening the draft, recruiting more volunteers, or both.

The move will bring Russia's total armed forces to 2.04 million, including the 1.15 million troops.

Western and Ukrainian officials have said Russia has suffered major losses in the Ukraine conflict and is struggling to replace personnel. A top U.S. official earlier this month said between 70,000 and 80,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since February 24.

The death toll from a Russian rocket attack on a railway station in the southern Dnipropetrovsk region on August 24 climbed to 25 people. The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, also said at least 31 people were wounded in the attack on the Chaplyne station.

The attack occurred not only on Ukraine's Independence Day but also at the six-month mark since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

Russia's Defense Ministry acknowledged the strike on the Chaplyne station but claimed that it had targeted a Ukrainian train that was transporting ammunition to the front line.

Earlier on August 25, Russian forces bombed the central city of Kryviy Rih with cluster munitions, the head of the local military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, said on Telegram, adding that so far there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Cluster munitions have been banned by most nations due to their devastating and indiscriminate effect on military personnel and civilians alike.

Human Rights Watch said in a report released on August 25 that Russia has used cluster munitions extensively since invading Ukraine, while Ukrainian forces appear to have used them at least three times in the war.

Cluster munitions, which can be fired by artillery and rockets or dropped by aircraft, open in the air, spreading numerous bomblets or submunitions over a wide area.

Since many bomblets remain initially unexploded, they can indiscriminately maim and kill military personnel and civilians alike, including children.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine is party to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions that prohibits this type of ammunition and has been ratified so far by 110 countries and signed by 13 more.

"Russia's widespread use of cluster munitions in Ukraine is a sobering reminder of what the Convention needs to overcome if it is to succeed in ending the human suffering these indiscriminate weapons cause," said Mary Wareham, advocacy director of the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch.

"All countries should condemn the use of these weapons under any circumstances," she added.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, CNN, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-zaporizhzhya-nuclear-plant -shut-down-disconnected/32003679.html

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Ukraine Says Russian-Controlled Nuclear Plant Shut Down, Disconnected From Grid