In the wake of increasing fears of nuclear disaster, the last operational reactor at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine has been entirely shut, the state agency in charge of the plant, Energoatom said on Sunday.
“The facility was “completely stopped” after it disconnected the Number 6 power unit from the grid at 3:41 am (00:41 GMT),” the statement read. “A decision was made to shut down power unit No 6 and transfer it to the safest state – cold shutdown,” it said on Telegram, Al Jazeera reported.
The company reiterated that the shutdown was necessary to avoid the risk of further damage to the power lines as it remained high.
As per Al Jazeera, the six-reactor Zaporizhzhia plant was cut off from the grid last week after all its power lines were disconnected as a result of clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the area.
However, Energoatom further said it restored to operational capacity a communications line to the power system, allowing the plant to be powered by Ukraine’s energy system long enough to initiate the shutdown.
Notably, Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of damaging power lines supplying the plant with rocket and artillery fire, risking a severe radiation disaster as war between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate.
Furthermore, Kyiv on Wednesday called for residents of Russian-occupied areas around the plant which is Europe’s largest, to evacuate for their own safety.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long back called for the surrounding area to be demilitarized, according to Al Jazeera.
On 31 August, the fourteen-membered team of the IAEA arrived in Ukraine.During their visit, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said that the physical integrity of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in south-eastern Ukraine has been “violated”.“I worry, and I will continue to be worried about the plant until we have a situation which is more stable, which is more predictable. It is obvious that the plant and the physical integrity of the plant have been violated several times by chance [and] by deliberation,” Grossi told reporters after his visit to the plant.
During the military operation in Ukraine, launched by Russia on February 24, the nuclear plant and surrounding area fell under the control of the Russian forces. The NPP has recently been targeted by multiple shelling, raising international concerns over a possible nuclear accident while Russia and Ukraine continue to blame each other for the shelling incidents.