Zaporizhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, is not far from the front in the Zaporizhia region that Russia declared annexed during the war of aggression against Ukraine. For months, Moscow and Kiev have accused each other of being responsible for attacks around and against the nuclear power plant.
For three weeks now, the nuclear power plant has only received electricity through one remaining external main power line, Grossi said. If it is damaged, it will lead to a complete failure of the external power supply. The last remaining emergency power line at the nuclear power plant, damaged since March 1, remains offline and is being repaired. “It shows once again how nuclear safety is in jeopardy at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant,” said Grossi.
IMAGO/TASS/Sergei Malgavko Reactor 2 of the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
Electricity dependent reactor cooling
Already on March 9, the plant had been without external power for eleven hours, when the main power line was interrupted. As a result, it relied on its diesel-powered emergency generators for reactor cooling and other important nuclear safety functions, the IAEA said. According to the Ukrainian operator, the nuclear plant was cut off from regular power supplies as a result of a large-scale Russian rocket attack.
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Grossi also warned about the pressure to which employees at nuclear power plants are exposed. The reduced workforce combined with the psychological stress caused by the ongoing military conflict is having an impact on nuclear safety and plant protection.
The nuclear plant, which has six blocks and an output of 6,000 megawatt hours (MWh), has been under Russian control for a good year after the Russian invasion. All reactors have been shut down and are just being cooled and monitored. Artillery fire incidents fueled international concerns about a nuclear catastrophe.
Stoltenberg: Putin is planning more war
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pledged the West to continue supplying Ukraine with weapons to counter the Russian invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin has no immediate plans for peace in Ukraine, he told the British Guardian newspaper (Thursday). “President Putin is not planning peace, he is planning more wars.”
Portal/Lehtikuva NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg once again vows West will help Ukraine
The West must therefore be prepared to continue supplying Kiev with weapons for a long time to come. Russia is increasing military industrial production for its “war of attrition” and is looking to “authoritarian regimes like Iran and North Korea” for more weapons, Stoltenberg said. The fierce fighting around Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine showed that Russia was prepared to “deploy thousands and thousands of troops and accept many casualties for minimal gain”.
“It’s about industrial capabilities”
As a result, the US, UK, France, Germany and other western states would have to be prepared to supply Ukraine with arms, ammunition and spare parts for an extended period of time. “The need will continue because this is a war of attrition; it’s about the industrial ability to sustain support.”
Stoltenberg said that with Western-supplied equipment, the Ukrainians would be able to “reclaim territory and liberate more and more land” that Russia captured after the February 2022 invasion. territory”.