On the night of July 4, the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant lost power from the main external power transmission line with a voltage of 750 kV. The press service of "Energoatom" informed about this.
After that, the ZNPP switched to a single 330 kV backup line, which was damaged four months ago, this line was repaired and reconnected to the ZNPP only on July 1, the company emphasized.
The line with a voltage of 750 kV is the main power transmission line for the station, the IAEA clarified. Before the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, there were four of them, according to the release.
The loss of communication with the 750-kV line forced the ZNPP to rely on recently restored backup power sources for the electricity needed to perform basic nuclear safety functions, the agency emphasized.
The release states that since the start of the full-scale war, the ZNPP has serious problems with the supply of electricity from outside the station and this "exacerbates the risks to nuclear safety and security of the facility, which is now located on the front line."
"This time, the NPP managed to avoid a complete loss of all external power supply, which has already happened seven times during the conflict, but the latest power line disconnection once again demonstrates the unstable situation with nuclear safety at the NPP," said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
The Zaporizhzhya NPP in Energodar, Zaporizhzhya region, has been under the control of the Russian occupiers since March 2022.
On the morning of June 6, 2023, the operational command "South" reported about the Russians blowing up the Kakhovskaya HPP. As a result of the explosion of the engine room from the inside, the Kakhovskaya HPP was completely destroyed, the station cannot be restored, the press service of "Ukrhydroenergo" stated.
On June 6, Energoatom noted that the explosion of the Kakhovskaya HPP may have negative consequences for the Zaporizhzhya NPP. As the company explained, water from the Kakhovsky Reservoir is necessary for the station to receive power for the turbine condensers and safety systems of the ZNPP.
On June 20, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the occupiers had mined the cooling pond at the ZNPP. At the same time, the IAEA did not see any mines near the cooling pond.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyі, announced on June 22 that the aggressor country of the Russian Federation is preparing a terrorist attack on the ZNPP with the release of radiation.
Budanov told the British publication New Statesman in an interview on June 23 that the Russian occupiers had already prepared a plan to blow up the Zaporizhzhya NPP, which is currently under their control.
