Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Faces Falling Water Levels, Blackout Risk, Ukraine Says

Falling water levels and repeated losses of external electricity are creating an increasingly difficult safety situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said. None of the plant’s six reactors is generating electricity, and all remain in cold shutdown, the Military Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) said in a statement.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. HUR said a work shift of about 1,150 employees, described as the minimum staffing level, was maintaining the facility’s safety systems. The agency said the water level in the plant’s cooling pond had fallen from 12.86 meters in July to 12.63 meters in early August and 12.55 meters by the end of the month. It said the level was continuing to decline, while at least 15 meters was required for the facility’s normal operation. The plant lost external electricity three times in August, on Aug. 1, 4 and 8, because of problems with the Ferrosplavna-1 power line, according to the intelligence agency. HUR said the facility had experienced between 23 and 25 external power outages since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Backup diesel generators were activated during the August outages. However, their operation placed additional pressure on fuel supplies in the occupied region, the agency said. “In the event of a prolonged total blackout, the plant would require about 150 metric tons of diesel fuel per day,” HUR said. Other Topics of Interest Ukrainian Businesses Expect Hryvnia Revenue Growth, Brace for War Through 2027 An EBA survey of 88 CEOs found that Ukrainian businesses expect revenue growth in hryvnia terms, even as 98% are planning for the war to continue throughout the year. Nuclear plants depend on a continuous electricity supply to operate cooling and other essential safety systems even when their reactors are shut down. Backup generators are intended to provide temporary power only if external supplies are lost. Russian forces also disconnected internet access at the plant on Aug. 13 and 14, disrupting communications, the monitoring of key indicators and international oversight, HUR said. The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station, has been under Russian control since the early months of the full-scale invasion. The facility is located near the occupied city of Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine. HUR said residents of Enerhodar were experiencing repeated disruptions to electricity, water supplies and communications, as well as severe shortages of food and fuel. The agency accused Russian forces of deliberately isolating the city’s information environment and mistreating civilians. HUR also alleged that Moscow was seeking to incorporate the nuclear plant into Russia’s regulatory system by involving inspectors from Rostekhnadzor, the Russian agency responsible for technical and nuclear oversight. It further accused Russia of using its representatives at the International Atomic Energy Agency to help legitimize the occupation. The intelligence agency cited a visit to the plant by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Sept. 4, shortly before the agency’s General Conference in Vienna. HUR claimed that Mikhail Chudakov, a Russian deputy director general at the IAEA, had secured changes to the agency’s Power Reactor Information System that displayed occupied Crimea as part of Russia and rendered the names of Ukrainian nuclear plants in Russian. The intelligence agency also said Russian forces continued to use the Zaporizhzhia plant as a military base and shelter for occupation troops. Russia has controlled the plant since March 2022, but Ukraine and the international community continue to recognize it as Ukrainian territory. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.