The Zaporijia nuclear power plant, in southern Ukraine and considered the largest in Europe, was completely without power after the Russian bombing on Wednesday damaged the only two power lines connecting the plant to the Ukrainian power grid.
Energoatom, the state operator of nuclear power plants in Ukraine, reported on Thursday on the Telegram social network about the disconnection of the nuclear power plant from the Ukrainian power grid, located on Ukrainian territory but currently under Russian military control.
“Yesterday, November 2, 2022, the two remaining power lines connecting the Zaporijia Nuclear Power Plant to the Ukrainian power grid were damaged due to Russian bombing. The power plant lost power at 23:04 local time [09:04 em Lisboa] the company explains.
For safety reasons, the 20 spare diesel generators that the plant has switched on.
Yesterday’s shelling and damage to transmission lines are yet another attempt by the Russians to reconnect the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant to the Russian energy system.
⚠️ https://t.co/w7bKS0812P#russiaisaterrorisstate #standwithukraine #stoprussia pic.twitter.com/FeOzqxu6Dk
– Energoatom (@energoatom_ua) November 3, 2022
At present, Zaporijia has enough power to meet the plant’s internal needs with only nine working diesel generators.
Force units number 5 and number 6, which were active, are currently being decommissioned following the bombings, Energoatom added.
“There is enough diesel to run the back-up generators for 15 days if the plant is completely shut off. But the countdown begins to total energy loss in the plant,” he explains.
Energoatom added that “Ukraine’s ability to ensure the safety of the Zaporijia plant is significantly limited due to the Russian occupation and the interference in the management of the plant by representatives of Rosatom”, the Russian state nuclear power body, which took control of Zaporijia.
However, Moscow announced that it had prevented an attack by Ukrainian troops on the nuclear power plant. Nikolai Patrushev of Russia’s Security Council said special forces succeeded in stopping a “terrorist attack” on the Zaporijia factory on Thursday morning, Sky News reports.
The situation of the nuclear power plant, the third largest in the world, is of concern to Ukraine and allied countries, as it is located in a region annexed by Russia and is subject to heavy fighting.
The factory’s facilities have been under attack since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24.
News updated at 11:13
Source: DN
