Russians want to disconnect the Zaporizhzhia NPP from Ukraine
The situation at Europe's largest nuclear power plant is getting worse every day. Since Friday, the occupants have fired several shells at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
The ultimate goal of the Russians is to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian energy system and begin stealing Ukrainian electricity, Ukrainian Pravda reports.
After the occupation of the nuclear power plant on March 3, Ukrainian specialists began recording large-scale violations of nuclear and radiation safety: from forcing employees to work at gunpoint to using heavy weapons at the site.
As of the end of May, the occupiers had deployed about 50 pieces of heavy equipment and more than 500 soldiers at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. In fact, at the civilian nuclear facility, the occupiers have set up a military base with an arsenal of heavy weapons and used it as a “human shield”, shelling neighboring Nikopol.
The recent actions of the Russians near the plant, including shelling on August 5 and 6, indicate the occupiers’ plans to disconnect the nuclear power plant from the Ukrainian power grid and begin stealing Ukrainian electricity.
Representatives of the invaders have already announced that as of September 1, the plant will come under the control of Rosatom (Russian state atomic energy corporation), and Ukrainian specialists should prepare for “work under the new rules”. Whether they will be able to implement their plans is a big question.
Disconnecting the Zaporizhzhia NPP from the Ukrainian energy system and supplying electricity to Crimea and even from the technical point of view of Russia is very difficult, but possible.
“It takes a lot of funds and additional devices, which have yet to be installed. Also, ZNPP cannot be simply taken and separated from the Ukrainian power system, because it is connected to it by corresponding power transmission lines,” says Petro Kotin, head of Energoatom.
Ukrainian officials repeat unanimously that the Zaporizhzhia NPP can operate only in the domestic energy system. Other scenarios are rejected by the authorities.
However, if we consider the most negative scenario, the loss of the plant on the eve of the worst winter in history would have grave consequences for Ukraine.
Author – Anastasiya Glotova, 08/08/2022
