Power has been restored once again at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility in southern Ukraine, easing worries about an accident at one of the war’s most sensitive sites, but the head of the watchdog United Nations nuclear agency said late on Friday that the situation remained dangerous.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a statement that, in a “necessary development,” Ukrainian engineers working at the plant under intense Russian pressure had managed to restore backup power at the plant, ending reliance on generators. diesel electricity. Most nuclear power plants consider diesel generators a last line of defense to be used only in extreme cases.
This is the second time in recent days shelling cut off power lines provided cooling for the plant’s six reactors, all of which were decommissioned.
The war marked the first time a nuclear facility had become an active combat zone. Russia has stationed troops and artillery at the plant since seizing it in March. Ukrainian authorities said the Russians had shelled neighboring cities from the plant’s premises, aware of the risk of a resurgence. A waste storage site has been attacked several times, and power lines are a frequent target. Each side has blamed the other for the attacks.
“Working under very difficult conditions, the operators at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant are doing everything they can to improve its fragile off-site power situation,” said Grossi. “Restoring backup power connectivity is a positive step in this regard, although the overall nuclear safety and security situation remains precarious.”
The Zaporizhzhia plant does not supply electricity to Ukraine’s electricity grid, as its reactors have stopped working, but it needs its own power source for safety reasons. The workers struggled for weeks with how to deliver the thing. Grossi said that work on restarting one of the reactors would begin on Saturday in a process that would last several days. In addition, more diesel fuel has arrived, from both Ukraine and Russia on the front lines, to power Zaporizhzhia’s generators for at least 10 days if the plant is cut again, he said.
Mr. Grossi met with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Moscow and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine this week to promote the establishment of a safe and secure zone around the plant.
The plan faces obstacles, especially since it means Russia will have to cede military control of a critical piece of Ukraine’s infrastructure. In addition, this month, Mr. Putin announced that four provinces of Ukraine, including Zaporizhzhia, were annexed to Russia. The announcement was rejected by the government in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the United Nations General Assembly as illegal but it means that, from Moscow’s point of view, the plant is now Russian.
In recent weeks, Russia has said it is nationalizing the plant, placing it under the control of its state nuclear company. It pressured Ukrainian engineers and workers to report to Moscow, despite government orders in Kyiv.
Mr. Grossi said that employees were facing “unacceptable pressure” to sign a contract with Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom.
“I have made it clear that employees must be allowed to perform their important duties without undue interference or pressure,” Mr. Grossi said. His agency says it considers the nuclear facility Ukrainian.
Ukrainian officials took note fatigue and stress of factory control room staffsays that Russian soldiers have faced harsh interrogations, including torture, suspicions of sabotage or informing the Ukrainian military about activities at the plant.
Ukraine’s state energy company, Energoatom, said on the messaging app Telegram on Saturday that it had set up a hotline for workers at the plant that can be used by “all has information on cases of kidnapping and torture” by Russian authorities.
