After the liberation of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and its satellite city of Enerhodar from the Russian occupiers, Ukraine will need at least two months to defuse all explosive devices, the press service of Energoatom (Enerhoatom) reports.
The company emphasized that Russians are deliberately turning Europe's largest nuclear power plant into a military base, mining everything around it out of fear of the Armed Forces.
"This time (two months - ed.) is also needed to check the condition of the equipment and facilities of the nuclear power plant and the surrounding area. Currently, Russians are unable to launch any of the ZNPP units, as all but one of the power lines (through which the plant receives power from Ukraine for its own needs) are damaged. In addition, Rosatom lacks staff, as Ukrainian patriots mostly refuse to cooperate with the occupiers, and the competencies of Russian specialists are not enough to organize the full operation of ZNPP," the statement said.
Due to the downtime of ZNPP and the shutdown of all its power units, there is a constant gradual degradation of systems and equipment taking place. The required temperature regime for their operation is not being maintained, and the units are cold and out of service.
The plant does not generate electricity but only consumes it from the Ukrainian power grid (about 100 MW for its own needs).
"In case of damage to the last line connecting ZNPP to the national power grid, the plant will switch to blackout mode, and diesel generators will start up. ZNPP has already operated in this emergency mode five times after Russian shellings. Fortunately, no diesel generators have ever been switched off, which carries the risk of a nuclear or radiation accident," Energoatom said.
The Russians want to cut off ZNPP from Ukraine's power grid and connect it to theirs.
The IAEA demands that the Russian Federation withdraw its occupational forces from the Zaporizhzhya NPP.