He called the Zaporizhzhia nuclear workers “real heroes” who “tirelessly and steadfastly carry the nuclear and radioactive safety of Ukraine and the whole of Europe on their shoulders and work selflessly so that their homeland has life-giving electricity.” Fires at a nearby thermal power plant had caused the last remaining power line, which feeds the plant, to be disconnected twice on Thursday, the nuclear operator said at the time. The plant’s other three lines had been “lost earlier during the conflict”, he added. Power was restored later Thursday, but the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remained disconnected from the country’s power grid until Friday. The two nuclear reactors that remain in operation at the plant need a source of electricity to operate and power the grid. The nuclear plant, which is the largest in Europe, has been under Russian control since March. Conflicts surrounding the complex have caused widespread concern and fears of destruction. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russian forces of stockpiling heavy weaponry inside the complex and using it as cover to launch attacks, knowing Ukraine cannot return fire without risking hitting one of the plant’s six reactors. Moscow, meanwhile, claimed that Ukrainian troops were targeting the site. Both sides tried to point the finger at the other for the threat of nuclear terrorism. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said backup diesel generators were “immediately activated” at the plant to prevent a “radioactive catastrophe.” “People need to understand what a threat this is: If the diesel generators had not been turned on, if the automation and the factory staff had not reacted after the blackout, then we would already be forced to overcome the consequences of radiation. accident,” Zelensky said during his nightly speech. The generators are installed to supply power to the cooling pumps to stop the fuel overheating in the event of a power failure. “Russia has brought Ukraine and all Europeans to a situation one step away from a radiological catastrophe,” Zelensky said, adding that officials from the IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, must be granted access as a matter of urgency. An administrator at the plant told CNN on Friday that amid “the shelling around the station and the city, the smoke from the fires, the dust from the ash dump of a thermal power plant,” the “situation sometimes looks like the end of world”. “It’s really difficult when there are strong winds,” added the worker, who has spoken to CNN on previous occasions and whose identity has not been released for his safety. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant produces about 20% of Ukraine’s electricity, and a prolonged disconnection from the national grid would be a huge challenge for Ukraine as colder weather approaches.
