The Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in Russian hands, was “on the verge of a nuclear accident” overnight due to a temporary cut of the electricity supply, the Ukrainian operator Energoatom indicated this Saturday.
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“Last night there was a total blackout at the Zaporizhia power plant,” and generators had to be used, Energoatom said on Telegram, adding that The supply was restored a few hours later.
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The Russian administration of the plant acknowledged that the external power supply was cut off, but assured that there was “no violation” of its “safe operating conditions.”
The radiation level at the plant site is “normal,” he also indicated on Telegram.
Two power lines that fed the plant “were cut off,” one of them due to “an air attack,” the operating company detailed.
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Later, The plant’s power supply was restored, although the incident jeopardized the plant’s proper functioning, Energoatom said, so much so that it was “on the verge of a nuclear and radiation accident.”.
In a statement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) indicated that the plant was “temporarily deprived of electricity during the night,” and that it was the eighth power outage of this type since the beginning of the invasion. Russian, in February 2022.
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Ukrainian soldiers train in the United Kingdom.
Alastair Grant/AFP
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine It has been in the hands of the Russians since shortly after the start of the invasion in February 2022.
In the past it was the target of gunshots and power grid outages on numerous occasions, a precarious situation that raised fears of a major nuclear accident.
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The cut in one of the two power lines seems linked to an incident that occurred “far from the plant,” the IAEA said, without further details.
The last external cut of supply once again reminds us of the precariousness of nuclear safety and the safety of the plant.
“The last external cut of supply once again reminds us of the precariousness of nuclear safety and the safety of the plant, which can be affected by events very far from the installation“said the director of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, quoted in the statement.
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“The (Russian) occupation forces do not care about the safety of the nuclear power plant,” accused the president of the state-owned company Energoatom, Petro Kotin.
“They will continue to create dangerous situations, blackmailing the entire world” with the risk of “a nuclear accident,” the manager added.
AFP
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