Russians continue to destroy equipment at the ZNPP they occupy – Energoatom
Incompetent actions of the occupiers may lead to a complete loss of power supply for the Zaporizhzhia NPP's own needs, with the subsequent development of a nuclear or radiation accident
The Russian invaders tried to repair the damaged shunt reactor PL-750kV "Dniprovska", which is installed on the 750kV GRP of the Zaporizhia NPP. It is connected to one of the overhead lines that provides Zaporizhia NPP with electricity for its own needs from the territory controlled by Ukraine. The Russians tried to turn the reactor on twice, but it was turned off by the protection.
This was reported by the press service of NNEGC Energoatom.
"After the completion of the "repair" of the shunt reactor, which the occupiers had been carrying out since November 23, they tried to turn it on twice, and both times the reactor was shut down by the action of longitudinal and transverse differential protection. All these actions were carried out by the occupiers without any approval or permission from the Regional Control Center of the Ukrainian power grid, which is a gross violation of regulatory documentation, affects and may lead to a complete loss of power supply for the NPP's own needs with the subsequent development of a nuclear or radiation accident," Energoatom explains.
The sole official operator of the ZNPP emphasizes that such actions by the Russian invaders once again indicate their inability not only to guarantee the safe operation of the equipment and perform its timely maintenance, but also to have qualified personnel to carry out repairs.
"The occupiers, due to their own incompetence, continue to cripple the equipment of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. We receive evidence of the degradation of the equipment almost every day. The latest example also speaks of the ongoing chaos in the organization of work at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The invaders have turned it into a military base, and incompetent people are responsible for nuclear and radiation safety. All this leads to uncontrolled events that can have a significant impact on the safety of the NPP," said Petro Kotin, head of Energoatom.
He emphasized that it is necessary to resume the transmission of data about what is happening at the Zaporizhia NPP as soon as possible - to the official operator "Energoatom", the regulator, and the IAEA.
As reported by "Ukrainian Energy", on December 10, on the road in the Zaporizhia region, where Russia illegally maintains the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant it seized, a Russian FPV drone attacked a convoy of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The strike was carried out on one of the vehicles in the convoy. Fortunately, there were no casualties or injuries.
