UKRAINE NUCLEAR PLANT IN DELIBERATE DANGER
July 21, 2022 -Durt Fibo
Zaporizhzhya NPP, the largest nuclear facility in Europe, was captured by Russian troops on March 4, and has been in their control since then. The plant is –as of this writing– some mere 22 miles from the fighting front in Ukraine’s southeast, on the bank of the Kakhovka water reservoir.
On March 3, Russian forces attacked the plant and hit a transmission line connected to the plant’s main electrical substation. The IAEA assessed that two of four high-voltage lines were damaged, endangering operations. During the attack, heavy fire was directed not only at administrative buildings, but also at the reactor buildings. Two shells had landed in an area used to hold old nuclear waste.. Artillery damage reached within just a few hundred feet of the Unit 2 reactor building. In fact, the assault, which towards the end included some Russian troops launching random grenades into the area, left several buildings damaged, reactors 1 and 6 disabled, and the employees became hostages while being prevented from executing repairs or necessary maintenance. Battle-related fires broke out, but Ukrainian firefighters were blocked from reaching them by Russian troops. Only by late April were power lines and communications restored and the plant considered to be functional.
Today, July 21, Enerhoatom –the Ukrainian state nuclear power operator– published an alarm on its official Telegram channel. Translated, the post reads:
“Russian military equipment, explosives and weapons are already in the engine room of the Zaporizhzhya NPP power unit!
The Russian military dragged at least 14 units of heavy military equipment with ammunition, weapons and explosives to the engine room of the 1st power unit of the ZANP.
The entire arsenal of imported heavy equipment with all ammunition is currently located very close to the equipment that ensures the operation of the turbogenerator. In particular, in the immediate vicinity of the main oil tank, which contains flammable oil that cools the steam turbine. There is also explosive hydrogen, which is used to cool the generator.
The military equipment of the invaders prevented the access of specialized fire engines and other vehicles to the control room of power unit No. 1. Therefore, the risk of fire increases many times, and its extinguishing becomes extremely problematic. If a fire occurs, for example, due to the accidental detonation of ammunition, then its scale can be equal to that which occurred during the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant!
The occupiers continue to cynically violate all norms and requirements regarding fire, nuclear and radiation safety of the NPP operation, keeping heavy military equipment, ammunition, weapons and explosives just in the engine room of the power unit of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
We will remind you that yesterday, July 20, 2022, the Russian military demanded from the administration of the temporarily occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant to open the engine rooms at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd power units to place their entire military arsenal there.”
The Zaporizhzhya post also included a clear and urgent appeal to the world for a restoration of sanity, saying: “Energoatom once again insists on the need to release the Zaporizhia NPP as soon as possible and once again appeals to the international community to take measures for this, because only Ukraine can guarantee the uninterrupted and safe operation of the ZNPP!”