Ukraine announced on Sunday (11) that it has shut down, for safety reasons, the last of the six still operating reactors at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, which is currently occupied by Russian forces. As a result, the plant was disconnected from the power grid and stopped generating electricity.
“Preparations are underway to cool the reactor and bring it to a cold state,” Ukraine’s state nuclear energy agency Energoatum said in a statement.
Russian forces took control of Europe’s largest nuclear plant in the early days of their invasion of the neighboring country.It became the scene of heavy fighting after attacks by local forces trying to regain control of the factory.
Map showing the conflict in Zaporizhia – Photo: g1
According to Energoatom, the shutdown was possible after the power was restored to the station, which was cut off on Monday due to fighting in the area. One of the lines connecting the plant to Ukraine’s national electricity grid was restored on Saturday evening, allowing the company to shut down the last reactor, the agency said.
Since the shutdown, the plant has been powered by the only reactor of the six still operating, providing power for its safety systems. Under normal circumstances, the plant relies on energy from the outside to maintain cooling systems that prevent the reactors from overheating. Cooling failure may result in reactor failure and radiation leakage.
An official from the Russian nuclear agency confirmed the plant’s closure. The operation came a few days after the issuance of the report of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency on the situation at the site.
The alarming situation in Zaporizhzhia
Before announcing the closure of the plant, the presidents of Ukraine and France, Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron, insisted on the need to ensure the safety of Zaporozhye, warning of the “extremely worrying situation” in which he is living there.
According to Palacio Eliseo, the two presidents confirmed in a telephone conversation their support for the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which on Friday alerted to the ‘unsustainable condition’ At the station due to a power outage.
Zelensky and Macron demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from the area to ensure security in Zaporizhia. “Our position is that the only way to protect Europe from nuclear catastrophe is to demilitarize the factory area.”said the Ukrainian president.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian government asked residents of the Russian-occupied areas near the plant to leave the site to ensure their safety. Moscow and Kiev accuse each other of bombing the nuclear plant and risking a nuclear catastrophe.
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