Russia should agree to a demilitarised zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine and allow international officials to assess its safety, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said.
“Russia should agree to the demilitarised zone around the plant and agree to allow an International Atomic Energy Agency visit as soon as possible to check on the safety and security of the system,” Jean-Pierre continued.
She added the plant had come up in a call between US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, scheduled to mark Ukraine’s independence day on August 24.
“I know it is a bittersweet anniversary, but I made it clear that the United States would continue to support Ukraine and its people as they fight to defend their sovereignty,” Biden wrote on Twitter.
Satellite images show fires and smoke around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
A series of satellite images, from Planet Labs and the European Space Agency, show a fire and smoke near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine.
The three satellite images — which were taken on Aug. 24 at 10:39 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 11:35 a.m. local time — show a rare sequential glimpse of a fire growing toward the south of the plant, and smoke rising from an ash pit located in the northern section of the complex.
The plant, which is held by Russian forces, was completely disconnected from the power grid for the first time in its history on Thursday, according to the country’s nuclear operator.
The complex was disconnected due to fires at nearby ash pits, causing the last remaining power line connecting to Ukraine’s energy grid to disconnect twice, Energoatom announced in a statement.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has confirmed Thursday the power supply from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been restored, but it currently remains disconnected from Ukraine’s energy grid.
In a statement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had been informed by the Ukrainian government that the plant’s last remaining operational 750 kV external power line is back up and running after disconnecting twice due to fires nearby. This would confirm an earlier statement from the Russian-installed governor of the occupied Zaporizhzhia areas.
However, the two remaining operational nuclear reactors “remained disconnected from the grid” after the power line was restored, Ukraine said, according to the IAEA.
“Ukraine also informed the IAEA that as a result of the cuts in the 750 kV power line, the ZNPP’s two operating reactor units were disconnected from the electricity grid and their emergency protection systems were triggered, while all safety systems remained operational, the Director General [Mariano Grossi] said. All six units remained disconnected from the grid also after the power line was restored, Ukraine said,” according to the statement.
The Russian-installed governor, Yevhen Balytskyi, earlier claimed: “Immediately after the fire was extinguished, one unit was put into operation. Work was underway to restore the power supply to the region and launch the second power unit.”
“There was no information immediately available on the direct cause of the power cuts,” the IAEA noted.
“The six-reactor ZNPP normally has four external power lines, but three of them were lost earlier during the conflict,” it added.
US: Any attempt to disconnect Zaporizhzhia plant from Ukrainian power grid is “unacceptable”
The US State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said Thursday that any attempt to disconnect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from the Ukrainian power grid and redirect it to Russian-occupied areas is “unacceptable.”
“It is clear that Russia’s shelling and seizure of Ukraine’s power plants and infrastructure are part of its strategy to create energy crises in Europe. We strongly condemn any action at ZNPP or elsewhere that impacts the health and welfare of civilians throughout the region,” Patel stated during a briefing call with reporters.
“No country should turn a nuclear power plant into an active war zone, and we oppose any Russian efforts to weaponize or divert energy from the plant,” he continued, adding, “To be very clear, ZNPP and the electricity that it produces rightly belongs to Ukraine.”
Patel noted the United States is “closely monitoring the reports the last two operational reactors that ZNPP has been shut down,” and noted that “Ukraine is reporting that all the plant’s safety and security systems are working normally and we have no indication of increased or abnormal radiation levels.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the power supply from the Russian-occupied plant has been restored, but it currently remains disconnected from Ukraine’s energy grid.
