On March 4, 2022, the Russian army occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The largest nuclear facility in Europe was turned into a military base by the Russian occupiers and regularly subjected to shelling. The first Russian shelling of the station took place on March 15. On September 11, 2022, the station was stopped due to regular Russian attacks for the first time in 31 years of operation on the territory of independent Ukraine.
Petro Kotin, president of the national energy company Energoatom, reported from the day of the occupation until today, due to the criminal actions of the Russian occupiers, the Zaporizhzhia NPP was stopped 5 times.
"During the year of occupation, the station had already experienced five complete blackouts when diesel generators were connected to power the reactor zones, holding pools, and the site of spent nuclear fuel. If there were no diesel generators, an accident would have already occurred, including the reactor core melting. It is very dangerous," Petro Kotin.
Many station personnel are held hostage by the occupiers. Without specialized maintenance, nuclear plant equipment degrades. 4 power units out of 6 are completely blocked. Another 2 power units are not frozen, but the reactors are stopped. Since September 2022, the operation of the station has been discontinued.
"The entire station is completely mined: the access roads, the shoreline of the Kakhovsky reservoir, on which the ZNPP is located. Many animals are detonated on these mines on the coast, and after these detonations, the last power line is damaged again," Kotin.
