UN says blackout threatens Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

• The management of Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor, is in an increasingly precarious situation.
• It is unlikely that the plant’s power will be restored.
• There was shelling in the nearby city of Enerhodar.

The management of the Russian-owned Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor in Ukraine is in an increasingly precarious situation, according to the head of the UN nuclear agency.

According to Rafael Grossi, it is unlikely that the plant’s power will be restored after being cut off by shelling in the nearby city of Enerhodar.

According to Mr. Grossi, the operator was thinking about turning off the final reactor.

In order to avoid a nuclear accident, this would make the plant entirely dependent on emergency diesel generators.

He stated in a statement that “this is an unsustainable position and is growing increasingly perilous.” “This cannot stand; it is simply unacceptable.”

Regardless of whether Russia or Ukraine was behind the shelling, Mr. Grossi insisted that it stop right away.

The plant, which is close to the front line and has been controlled by the Russians along with Enerhodar since early in the invasion, has been the focus of blame between the two nations for fighting nearby.

Mr. Grossi, who personally visited the plant earlier this month, claimed to have learned on Friday from his remaining employees that a “severe scenario” had arisen over the previous night.

The majority of the plant operators and their families reside in the city of Enerhodar, which he claimed had had its power “destroyed by bombardment.” As a result, Enerhodar has had a “total power blackout.

Given the intensified and ongoing bombardment, he stated, “there is minimal chance of re-establishing reliable offsite power, especially while the shelling repeatedly and continuously ruins the power infrastructure.”

The “entire power plant would then be totally dependent on emergency diesel generators for ensuring key nuclear safety and security functions” if the operator shuts down the lone remaining reactor, Mr. Grossi noted.

The “increasingly terrible circumstances” in Enerhodar may potentially have an effect on the plant’s critical staffing, he warned.

In another development, Ukraine claimed that over the past week, it has reclaimed from Russia more than 1,000 sq km (385 sq miles) of territory in the south and the east.

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