Last reactor at Zaporizhia disconnected amid shelling
Lviv, Ukraine, Sep 5 (EFE).- The last reactor that was still in operation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been disconnected after a fire caused by shelling, the Ukrainian state company Energoatom said Monday.
On Saturday, Europe’s largest atomic power plant was disconnected from the Ukrainian electricity grid after several airstrikes in the area, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said at the time.
Ukrainian energy minister Hermann Galushchenko said restoring the line was not possible due to ongoing fighting in the area.
“The world is once again on the brink of nuclear disaster,” the minister said on Telegram.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly demanded the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops who have been in control of the nuclear plant for months.
The IAEA mission arrived last week in Zaporizhia, after an agreement was reached with Moscow and Kyiv to allow its experts, led by director general Rafael Grossi, to inspect the site.
A permanent two-person mission for the UN agency remained at the site after the team withdrew.
Monday’s disconnection follows the previous interruption at the end of August – also because of bombing in the region – with Kyiv and Moscow each blaming the other. EFE
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