“As of 8:00 a.m. (local time, 7:00 a.m. CET) on August 6, 2022, the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant operates with the risk of violating radiation and fire safety regulations,” wrote Enerhoatom in a telegram, according to which the nitric acid storage and adjacent technical facilities were damaged during shelling building.
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There is also a risk of fire and leakage of hydrogen and radioactive substances. As a result of the attack on the power plant, the emergency protection system of one of the blocks was activated, which was disconnected from the power grid, its functionality is ensured by spare generators, the Ukrainian company said.
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Ukrainian workers at the power plant are working to eliminate the consequences of Friday’s shelling. The facility is still operating and producing electricity for the Ukrainian electricity grid, Enerhoatom wrote.
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“This Saturday morning was possible in many European cities only because the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant miraculously did not explode yesterday. Russia has occupied the facility and is carrying out dangerous provocations,” wrote on Twitter the adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak, and called on the UN to strongly demand that Russia withdraw from the power plant.
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The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, strongly condemned the behavior of the Russian army in the area of the power plant on behalf of the European Union. “This is a serious and irresponsible violation of nuclear power plant safety rules and another example of Russia’s indifference to international rules,” Borrell wrote on Twitter.
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Ukrainian authorities on Friday accused Russian forces, which have been occupying Europe’s largest nuclear power plant since the beginning of their invasion of Ukraine, of shelling the facility several times. The rockets in one of the attacks landed right next to one of the blocks.
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On the other hand, the Russian agency RIA Novosti, referring to an unnamed source from the Russian occupation administration from the Ukrainian Enerhodar, where the power plant is located, said that the artillery attack was the responsibility of Ukrainian troops.
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Protective shield of Russian soldiers
In recent days, Kyiv, London and Washington have warned that Russian soldiers are using the power plant as a protective shield and are shelling Ukrainian positions from a location near the facility. Ukraine also claims that Russia is storing weapons at the site.
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The independent website The Insider reported on Friday that sources at the power plant are warning of suspicious activities by Russian troops. According to them, at the beginning of this week, a military convoy with an unknown cargo arrived at the facility. One of the sources said that Russian soldiers had mined part of the compound.
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According to the mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, reports of undermining cannot be ruled out. According to him, there is understandably panic in the city after the last wave of shelling of the nuclear power plant, and another wave of evacuations to the areas under the control of the Ukrainian army is expected, the Unian agency wrote.
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