The IAEA noted on December 30, 2022, that since yesterday evening, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the south of Ukraine had been cut off from the 330 kV back-up power line on the right bank of the Dnipro river – it was damaged by shelling.
Source: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
“The latest incident underlining the facility’s fragile supplies of electricity from the grid,” the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said.
It is noted that the Zaporizhzhia NPP, whose six reactors have been shut down, continues to receive the electricity needed to cool the reactors from an external power transmission line (750 kV) – the only one of the four that worked before the Russian invasion of the plant.
“The team of IAEA experts present at the ZNPP reported that its connection to the 330 kV Ferosplavna 1 back-up line was lost at 21:35 local time yesterday as a result of damage on the other side of the Dnipro River, some distance away from the plant itself. The extent of damage was not yet clear but work to repair the line is already under way. The Ferosplavna 1 was the ZNPP’s last functioning back-up power line and it is vital that it is restored as soon as possible,” said Rafael Grossi, emphasizing that all military actions that threaten the nuclear security of Ukraine must be stopped immediately.
The Director General of the IAEA noted that he continued to hold consultations with Ukraine and Russia regarding the earliest possible introduction of a nuclear safety zone around the ZNPP.
Uaposition memo: Russian troops captured the Zaporizhzhia NPP on March 4, 2022. They place military equipment and ammunition on its site, constantly shelling both the surrounding area and the plant itself, destroying power lines and causing external power outages. Moreover, the Russian army blames the Armed Forces of Ukraine for these shellings.
See also: 500 Russian soldiers are on the territory of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
