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Ukrainian Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant's Last Operating Reactor Shut Down [1]
['Rfe Rl']
Date: 2022-09
Enerhoatom, the operator of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, says the final reactor in operation has been shut after shelling in the area as fears of an accident around the Russian-occupied plant remain high despite the installation of two UN watchdog inspectors at the site.
In a statement on September 5, Enerhoatom said that "Russian occupying troops have continued to intensively shell the territory near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant."
"As a result of a fire caused by the shelling...the electricity line connecting the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant with Ukraine's main electric grid was switched off. Following that, the sixth reactor, which provides the nuclear plant's internal power needs, was switched off," the statement said.
Fighting around the plant, Europe's largest nuclear station, has raised fears of a potential nuclear disaster. Russian state news agency TASS reported early on September 5 that three explosions were heard in Enerhodar, the town where the Zaporizhzhya plant is located.
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Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to recapture the plant by force, allegations Kyiv denies.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of deploying heavy weaponry at the site, knowing that Ukraine likely would not fire on it. Moscow denies those allegations but has resisted efforts to demilitarize the area in order to avert an environmental catastrophe.
Fighting around the plant prompted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send a mission to the site last week.
Several members of the mission left on September 3 while another group has also departed, leaving two IAEA members onsite to monitor the situation, according to TASS, which quoted a Russia expert who was present during the mission. The UN watchdog is expected to release a report on its visit in the coming days.
Russia's war against Ukraine, now in its seventh month, has also driven up energy prices and sparked supply concerns with the West accusing Moscow of weaponizing gas and oil.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned over the weekend that Russia was preparing "a decisive energy blow" as the winter months approached, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that "Russia is no longer a reliable energy partner."
Gas prices in Europe jumped 30 percent early on September 5 as Russia announced the indefinite shutting of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
The link, which runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, usually supplies about a third of the gas exported to Europe. Already running at just 20 percent of capacity, the pipeline shut down last week for maintenance before Russia claimed a leak meant it couldn't be reopened. Several Western experts have scoffed at the excuse.
According to the Reuters news agency, EU energy ministers are due to meet on September 9 to discuss options to rein in soaring energy prices including gas price caps and emergency credit lines for energy market participants.
Meanwhile, Ukraine continued its counteroffensive targeting the south, particularly the Kherson region, which Russia seized early in the conflict.
The Ukrainian General Staff said on September 5 that its shelling in areas of the region "where the enemy is still concentrated" forced the Russians to impose a ban on the movement of local residents.
With reporting by TASS and Reuters
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[1] Url:
https://www.rferl.org/a/iaea-zaporizhzhya-one-reactor-working/32018994.html
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