Zaporizhzhia: 'Radiation disaster' narrowly averted as nuclear plant loses power, says Zelenskyy
The world narrowly avoided a radiation disaster as electricity to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was cut for hours due to Russian shelling on Thursday, Ukraine's president has claimed.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the shelling sparked fires in the ash pits of a nearby coal power station that disconnected the reactor complex from the power grid.
Zelenskyy said the plant’s emergency backup diesel generators had to be activated to supply power needed to run the plant.
The power supply ensured by back-up diesel generators is vital for cooling and safety systems at the plant, he said, praising the Ukrainian technicians who operate the plant under the watch of the Russian military.
"If our station staff had not reacted after the blackout, then we would have already been forced to overcome the consequences of a radiation accident," he said in an evening address.
"Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster."
A Russian-appointed official in the nearby occupied town of Enerhodar blamed Ukraine's armed forces for a fire in a forest near the plant. He said towns in the area lost power for several hours on Thursday.
"This was caused by the disconnection of power lines from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station as a result of provocations by Zelenskyy's fighters," Vladimir Rogov wrote on Telegram. "The disconnection itself was triggered by a fire and short circuit on the power lines."
Zaporizhzhia's Russian-installed regional governor, Yevgeny Balitsky, also blamed the transmission-line damage on a Ukrainian attack.
Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said it had been the first complete disconnection in the plant, which has become a hotspot in the six-month-old war.
It was not
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