Moscow claims Kiev’s attempt to regain control of nuclear power plant has been rebuffed
The Russian engineers who oversee the operation of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, the largest in Europe, with six reactors, and the scene of armed clashes that threaten its safety, have decided to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian electricity grid for ” technical reasons”. ” reasons.” lines of the power wiring feeding the reactors are “damaged”.
The International Nuclear Energy Agency (IAEA), which currently has several experts at the plant, confirmed the disconnection from the grid, but clarified that “a backup line is still active”. An identical incident occurred on August 25, but eventually the electric fluid was returned to the Ukrainian network.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces made a failed attempt to capture the nuclear power plant from Russian forces at dawn on Saturday. Konashenkov said a Ukrainian unit launched an amphibious assault from the Dnieper River against the factory, but, he emphasized, “it was repulsed and there were 47 casualties.”
Ukraine acknowledged Friday that it had bombed Russian military positions in Energodar, at points near the nuclear power plant. According to information released by the Kiev General Staff, “our forces launched precision offensives in the cities of Kherson and Energodar, destroying three enemy artillery systems and an ammunition arsenal.”
Coincidentally, a group of IAEA inspectors arrived at the nuclear power plant on Thursday, led by the organization’s director, Rafael Grossi. They worked for a few hours, leaving several colleagues to complete the checks. In Kiev, however, they are not very satisfied with the mission, as they have not yet demanded the complete demilitarization of the nuclear power plant and its surroundings. This was expressed by the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelensky, while an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry went so far as to say that Grossi and his team had been “cheated” and even “manipulated” by the Russians. Grossi assured Thursday that they discovered traces of attacks on the factory, of which Moscow and Kiev mutually accuse each other. He stated that the “physical integrity of the plant has been violated several times (…) and that this could happen again.”
In this regard, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered mediation to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a phone call this Saturday to find a way out of the current confrontation around the Zaporizhzhya plant. Erdogan is the architect of the agreement allowing Ukrainian grain exports and is doing his best to sit down Putin and Zelensky for negotiations. So far without any success.
Russia was concerned this Saturday that it had not yet received visas for members of its delegation who will attend the UN General Assembly in the United States this month, according to a letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. “Since September 1, none of our 56 representatives have received a visa,” Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia wrote to the agency. The meeting is scheduled to take place in New York between September 20 and 26. Under a 1947 agreement, Washington must not impede the transit of representatives of member states.
Source: La Verdad
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