Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has lost its last external power source, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday. due to new bombardments. It now relies again on emergency generators.
The site occupied then annexed by Russia obtains “the electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions” only thanks to diesel generators, added the UN body in a press release.
“The resumption of bombing is totally irresponsible”
“The connection was cut around one o’clock in the morning, local time”, specified the IAEA, which says it is based on “official information from Ukraine” as well as on top “reports from his team” of four experts present in the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. At dawn, the Ukrainian operator Energoatom wrote on Telegram that “the last connection line was damaged and disconnected” due to Russian bombings.
“A nuclear accident at the plant remains a very, very clear possibility”
“The resumption of bombardments, hitting the only external energy source of the plant, is totally irresponsible”, responded IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. “I will soon visit the Russian Federation and then return to Ukraine to agree on a nuclear protection and safety zone around the plant. It is an absolute and urgent imperative.”, he hammered. Rafael Grossi was in kyiv on Thursday to discuss the establishment of a protective zone around the plant, regularly targeted by gunfire that has already caused several power outages since August and for which Russians and Ukrainians are mutually responsible. “We continue to say what needs to be done, which is basically to avoid a nuclear accident at the plant, which remains a very, very clear possibility”he argued.
Although the six reactors are shut down, they still have need for electricity for vital safety functions and nuclear security. The plant’s diesel generators each have enough fuel for at least ten days.