Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on the shelling of the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP by the Russian Federation

[Mary Wilson]

05 August 2022 19:43

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns the actions of the Russian occupying forces on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP in the city of Energodar on August 5, 2022.

In particular, against the background of the cynical video statement of the president of the Russian Federation at the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wenapons that the Russian Federation has no intention to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Russia resorted to numerous provocations at the nuclear facility.

After the military trucks and SUVs filled with weapons were moved to the premises of the 1st and 2nd blocks of the ZNPP, which are under the service, at the beginning of August 2022, artillery shelling of the territory near the ZNPP industrial site took place today. As a result of the three recorded hits, the high-voltage power supply line of the ZNPP – Zaporizhzhia TPP was damaged.

The possible consequences of hitting an operating reactor are equivalent to the use of an atomic bomb.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calls on the international community to urgently take measures to force Russia to release the ZNPP and return the power plant to the control of Ukraine for the sake of the security of the whole world.

https://mfa.gov.ua/en/news/statement-ministry-foreign-affairs-ukraine-shelling-territory-zaporizhzhia-npp-russian-federation?v=62ed4a52a5e7d

[Mary Wilson]

Shells hit power lines at Ukraine nuclear plant, fighting in east

August 5, 2022 10:51 PM UTC

By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Friday of shelling Europe's biggest nuclear power plant as fighting raged again in the crucial border region of the Donbas and three more ships left ports carrying previously blockaded Ukrainian grain.

Shells hit a high-voltage power line at the Zaporizhzhia plant, prompting operators to disconnect a reactor despite no radioactive leak being detected. The plant was captured by Russian forces in early March in the opening stage of the war but it is still run by its Ukrainian technicians.

Earlier this week, the United Nations nuclear watchdog appealed for access to the plant, which Washington says Russia is using as a battlefield shield. read more

Ukraine's state nuclear power company Energoatom blamed Russia for the damage at the power station.

Russia's defence ministry accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the plant, saying a leak of radiation had been avoided only by luck.

It said that as a result, the generating capacity of one unit had been reduced and power supply to another had been cut. In addition, the nearby city of Enerhodar had power and water supplies problems, a ministry statement said.

Energoatom said the plant, about 200 km (160 miles) northwest of the Russian-held port of Mariupol in southeast Ukraine, was still operational and no radioactive discharges had been detected.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/shelling-hits-power-lines-ukraine-nuclear-plant-both-sides-trade-blame-2022-08-05/

[Mary Wilson]

Russian troops shelled Zaporizhzhia NPP, power unit now disconnected

2022/08/06 - 17:02

On the evening of 5 August, rockets hit part of station where nuclear reactor is located. Nitrogen-oxygen station & combined auxiliary building were damaged, there are risks of hydrogen leakage & radioactive material sputtering, Ukraine’s Energoatom agency reported.

... Zaporizhzhia NPP’s power unit No. 4 disconnected from grid as 2 power lines were damaged in the attack. Evacuation will be almost impossible in case of an accident at the station, the head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration Starukh said, Ukrinform reported.

https://euromaidanpress.com/2022/08/06/russian-troops-shelled-zaporizhzhia-npp-power-unit-now-disconnected/