Shelling continues at Zaporizhia

The Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) and nearby city of Energodar are again being shelled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to the ZNPP press service. “The Zaporizhia NPP and the adjacent city of Energodar have once again been subjected to artillery shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This time, the shelling targeted a fire station located just 1.2 kilometres from the ZNPP perimeter,” the statement said. The station added that the staff was not injured and that the damage was minor. “The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors present at the station have been notified of the incident,” the press service said.

The latest update from IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the inspectors at the plant “heard multiple rounds of incoming and outgoing shelling, adding to nuclear safety risks at a time when the plant has been without off-site power for nearly two weeks”.

The shelling totalled about 15 rounds at near and middle distance from the site, the team reported. Some explosions triggered car alarms, the team said. Around the same time, ZNPP informed the IAEA team that two rounds of shelling struck around 1.25 km from the site perimeter, in the vicinity of a fire extinguisher charging station. No casualties were reported and there was no immediate information of any damages.

“The nuclear safety and security situation is clearly not improving. On the contrary, the risks are growing. The plant has now been without off-site power for almost two weeks, forcing it to rely on emergency diesel generators for the electricity it needs to cool its shutdown reactors and spent fuel. This is an extraordinarily challenging situation,” Grossi said.

“I once again call for maximum military restraint near nuclear facilities during the war. I’m also continuing to engage with both the Russian Federation and Ukraine with the aim to restore off-site power to the ZNPP as soon as possible,” he added.

In the tenth and longest loss of off-site power suffered by ZNPP during the conflict, the plant lost connection to its last remaining 750 kilovolt line on 23 September. Eight emergency diesel generators are currently operating to provide back-up electricity to the site.

ZNPP’s Communications Director Evgeniya Yashina told RIA Novosti, “Zaporizhia NPP continues to operate in autonomous mode, being without external power supply for almost two weeks. The station’s own needs are supplied by diesel generators. According to the current data, the generators are operating normally, and there are enough fuel reserves for them.”

She noted that some of the generators are in standby mode, ready to be turned on immediately if necessary. However, she had no information about the prospects for restoring the Dneprovskaya overhead line to supply the plant with electricity.

“The current situation remains tense, but controlled. All necessary forces and means are available to ensure the safety of the station. The staff constantly monitors all key parameters, ” she said.

Plant management earlier informed the IAEA that the site has fuel reserves for more than 10 days of operation, “with regular offsite supplies maintaining this level”. Grossi said: “While the plant is currently coping thanks to its emergency diesel generators – the last line of defence – and there is no immediate danger as long as they keep working, it is clearly not a sustainable situation in terms of nuclear safety.”

He added: “Neither side would benefit from a nuclear accident … I’m in constant contact with the two sides with the aim to enable the plant’s swift re-connection to the electricity grid.”

Speaking at the recent Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, President Vladimir Putin commented on the ZNPP situation in response to a question. He stressed the need to repair the power line but said: “The difficulty is that… it is in the range of the Ukrainian artillery, they are hitting these places and actually do not allow our repair teams to approach.”

With respect to repeated Ukrainian reports that it is Russia that is shelling ZNPP he said: “But Mr Grossi was there, and the IAEA staff are also there. They keep quiet, embarrassed by the processes that are actually taking place, but they see everything. They all see that’s going on. Well, are we striking our own [plant]? It’s clear that this is nonsense.”

He added: “It’s a dangerous game. And people on the other side should also understand: if they play with this so dangerously, they have nuclear power plants operating on their side, and what prevents us from responding in a mirror way? Let them think about it.”

He noted that Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups had made repeated attempts and succeeded in blowing up high–voltage power lines at the Kursk and Smolensk NPPs. “They made their way through forests and blew them up. But our specialists restored them very quickly. What is happening at the Zaporizhia NPP is no different…. This is a very dangerous practice, and it would be better to stop it. I hope this [message] will somehow reach those who are doing this.”

Meanwhile, ZNPP Director Yuri Chernichuk told TASS that the ZNPP could eventually export electricity if the Russian government decided to do so. “This is technically possible. The question is political,” he said. He noted that the station is ready to work under various interaction schemes, including cooperation with the US, if such a decision is made at the Russian leadership level.

Earlier, a similar statement was made by Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev, who said that part of the electricity from the station after its launch could become the subject of international cooperation. He said the issue was being discussed with the American side, and that Russia is also ready to consider Ukraine’s participation if the necessary conditions arise.