The statement from the Ukrainian atomic agency fell on the Telegram platform on Thursday afternoon. “The two reactors of the plant in operation were disconnected from the network. As a result, the actions of the invaders caused a total disconnection of the electrical network of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, for the first time in its history,” the text proclaims gravely. . .
An announcement that is all the more worrying since in recent weeks attacks have multiplied on this highly strategic site, taken over by the Russians and which the Ukrainians intend to recover. These tensions heighten fears of a nuclear accident in the international community, and the effective shutdown of the plant further reinforces these fears.
The day before, Petro Kotin, head of Energoatom, the Ukrainian atomic agency, had warned that the invader was preparing to remove the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant – the largest in Europe – from the national and European grid to supply electricity to the territories in power. From Russia. . He even revealed on Wednesday in guardian the plans made to achieve it, which he says he has learned from the site’s employees.
Roadmap
“The preliminary condition of the plan is to seriously damage the lines connecting the Zaporizhia power plant with the Ukrainian system. They have just started launching the bombing to cut these lines,” he said.
So while the Russians and Ukrainians hold each other responsible for attacks that have recently targeted the site, Petro Kotin’s explanation could shed light on possible Russian motivations for attacking a facility still occupied by its soldiers.
The horrors of war have already largely served their purpose. According to Energoatom’s press release on Thursday, the plant’s six reactors are already out of service. Of the four main lines linking the Zaporizhia NPP to the Ukrainian network, three had previously been neutralized according to Petro Kotin. As for the three emergency lines, two suffered the same fate.
A dangerous transition
This is not a simple vandalism and the case raises fears of much more than the diversion of energy. In fact, disconnecting the plant is equivalent to depending for a time on a single electrical source and, therefore, endangering its entire cooling system. What increases the fear of a nuclear accident.
The transition phase from one network to another would be particularly dangerous. “You cannot switch from one to the other immediately. You must first turn off everything on one side, before turning on the switch on the other. During this disconnection, the control unit will not be connected to any power source,” said Petro Kotin. .
However, as the head of the Ukrainian nuclear industry also highlighted, it would take 90 minutes without electricity for the site to reach a worrying temperature… or even for its turbines to melt down.
“Terror Campaign”
The behavior of the Russians there worries Petro Kotin for another reason. According to the information provided by the staff, the vehicles of the occupation army obstruct access to the turbines that are still in operation: with, in detail, 14 machines in the room of one, and at least six in the room of the second. . Suffice it to say that in the event of a fire, firefighters could not approach the home.
Finally, the director of Energoatom spoke of a “campaign of terror” against Ukrainian personnel. In fact, if the Russian soldiers took control of the plant from March 4, it is still the original operators, therefore Ukrainians, who work there. Petro Kotin assured that 200 of them were arrested, one man beaten to death and another seriously injured.
The international community is mobilizing to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant. This Thursday, a few hours before the announcement of their “total disengagement” by the Ukrainians, Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, congratulated France 24 for having reached an “agreement in principle” between the belligerents and its partners for an inspection visit to this sensitive site.
Source: BFM TV
