South is threatened with power outage – Kiev: Russians want to close Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

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Ukraine fears that Russia wants to disconnect the country’s largest nuclear power plant from the national electricity grid. There are indications that Russian troops are preparing to shut down the reactors still in operation at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, state energy supplier Energoatom announced on Friday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he will seek a solution to the nuclear power plant dispute with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.

A failure in the electricity supply of the huge power plant – Zaporizhzhya is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant – would particularly affect southern Ukraine. Faced with war and energy shortages, the country is preparing for its toughest winter in decades. “The Russian military is currently looking for fuel suppliers for diesel generators,” Energoatom said. The diesel generators were to keep the cooling systems for the highly radioactive nuclear fuels running after the nuclear reactors were shut down.

The company reiterated the accusation that Russia was preparing a “large-scale provocation”. Conversely, the Moscow government had made the same accusation against Ukraine, warning of a “false flag operation”.

Fire is “playing with fire”
Internationally, special attention is paid to Zaporizhzhya, because a hit in the reactors can lead to a nuclear disaster similar to the one in Chernobyl in 1986. At that time, not only was the immediate vicinity permanently irradiated, but also radioactive fallout fell in several European countries. In early August, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, warned of fighting near the nuclear power plant before “playing with fire, with potentially catastrophic consequences”.

On Friday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the Russian military presence would ensure that Chernobyl would not happen again. Russia on Thursday rejected the United Nations’ proposal to demilitarize Zaporizhzhya.

Erdogan must influence Putin
After meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, the Turkish president announced that he would discuss Zaporizhzhya with Putin. Zelenskyy told him that Russia had to remove all mines in the area. “We will discuss these issues with Putin and specifically request Russia to do what it needs to do as an important step for world peace,” Erdogan said.

The plant was taken by Russian troops in March. It is close to the current front line. In the past, Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling the nuclear power plant. Bullets hit the area. Despite the Russian occupation, the factory is maintained by Ukrainian technicians. Only two of the six reactors are currently running at full capacity.

Source: Krone

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