The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been without electricity for almost three weeks, a situation that raises the risk of a nuclear incident, warn Ukrainian authorities.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andriy Sybiha, stated on platform X that the actions of the Russian company Rosatom “violate international nuclear safety protocols, contravene the Ukrainian license and pose a direct threat to nuclear security,” notes Focus.ua.
“Russia deliberately disconnected the plant from the Ukrainian power system to forcibly test its reconnection to the Russian system. Something like this has never happened in the history of nuclear energy,” Sybiha clarified.
The Ukrainian official also emphasized that the Russian Federation deployed troops and weapons at the occupied plant, mined the perimeter, and is now making “unacceptable technical transformations.” At the same time, Moscow would try to convince the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the international community that it has nothing to do with the plant’s operational problems.
Sybiha asked Russia to stop the bombings and allow the repair of high-voltage lines, stating that these works can be done “at any time, if there is will.”
“We ask the international community to clearly recognize Russia’s and Rosatom’s actions as illegal, unacceptable, and extremely dangerous. We ask the IAEA to put pressure on Russia to stop all technical transformations at the plant and return it to its rightful owner, Ukraine,” declared the foreign minister.
Earlier, Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, warned that Russian forces are preparing to connect the Zaporizhzhia plant to their own power system.
Focus.ua publication also reported that Russian authorities have illegally detained over 200 employees and residents of the city of Enerhodar, where the occupied plant is located.