Ukraine announces the shutdown of the last operating reactor at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has seen several outages in recent weeks, while it is the target of strikes that Kyiv and Moscow accuse of each other.

On Sunday, Ukraine announced the closure of the last operating reactor at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe and occupied by Russian forces.

“Today, September 11, 2022, during the night at 03:41 am, Unit No. 6 (power plant) was disconnected from the power grid,” a statement from Ukraine’s Energoatom said. “Preparations are underway to cool it down,” the operator adds.

According to Energoatom, cold shutdown is the “safest case” for the reactor, which for three days was the only one producing the electricity needed to cool the nuclear fuel and to ensure site safety.

“High risk” of damage to transmission lines

The decision was made to turn it off when the site’s external power supply was restored “last night” on one of the transmission lines.

Energoatom warns that “in the event of further damage to the transmission lines connecting the site to the electrical system – where the risks remain high – the internal needs (of the site) must be provided by diesel generators”.

In its press release, Energoatom reiterated its call for the establishment of a demilitarized zone around the station, which according to the operator is the only way to ensure its security.

The plant is at the center of interests

Ukraine and its allies have expressed increasing concerns about the security of the Zaporizhia plant. For weeks, confusion reigned over the location of the power plant, which was hit by multiple blows, accusing Kyiv and Moscow of each other.

On Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported a “total water and electricity cut” in the Ukrainian city of Energodar, where the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located, a situation that “threatens the safety of operations.”

“It is totally unacceptable. It cannot continue,” Rafael Grossi, the director general of this UN agency, said in a press release, calling for an “immediate cessation of the bombing in the region.”