Rocket strikes damaged a dozen residences in Marhanets, according to Yevhen Yevtushenko, the administration head for the district that includes the city of about 45,000. Nearby, heavy firing during the night left parts of Nikopol without electricity, said Valentyn Reznichenko, the Dnipropetrovsk region’s governor. Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed regional official, said on the Telegram messaging app that the drone crashed onto a building’s roof, not causing any significant damage or injuring anyone. In another apparent attack Sunday, Russian forces shot down an armed Ukrainian drone targeting one of the Zaporizhzhia plant’s spent fuel storage sites, a local official said. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency also reported Sunday that radiation levels were normal, that two of the Zaporizhzhia plant’s six reactors were operating and that while no complete assessment had yet been made, recent fighting had damaged a water pipeline, since repaired. “One projectile fell in the area of the sixth power unit, and the other five in front of the sixth unit pumping station, which provides cooling for this reactor,” Konashenkov said, adding that radiation levels were normal. It was up to Ukraine, however, to decide when to fire up one or more of the reactors, he added.Īsked if Ukraine would wait until it had consolidated the power supply before firing up any reactors, he said: "It is a logical conclusion".Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said Sunday that Ukrainian forces had attacked the plant twice over the past day, and that shells fell near buildings storing reactor fuel and radioactive waste. Grossi told a news conference on Monday that Ukraine is working on consolidating the power supply to the plant, meaning restoring power lines including the regular power lines that have long been down. On Monday, the IAEA said a second backup power line had been restored, allowing the plant to keep one in reserve while the other provides the facility with electricity it needs to cool reactors during a shutdown. For that, a reliable external power supply is essential, the IAEA says. The restoration of an emergency power line on Saturday made it possible to shut down the last operating reactor more safely.Ī cold shutdown is a relative term, however, as it means the reactor's temperature is below boiling point but electrical pumps moving water through the reactor core must still keep working to cool the fuel and avoid a nuclear meltdown. The IAEA said on Sunday that Zaporizhzhia has "20 emergency diesel generators available if needed, with supplies for at least 10 days of operation". Operating on island mode risks damaging vital components like turbines or pumps, and diesel generators are an emergency measure with only a limited amount of fuel available. read moreĪt Zaporizhzhia, when no external power lines are available, two options remain - so-called "island mode" where a reactor operates at low power to keep supplying cooling systems and other essential functions, and diesel generators, both of which are only designed to work for a short time. Earlier this month they were all out of use. It has three backup power lines but they have been cut or deliberately disconnected at various points. Zaporizhzhia has four regular external power lines, all of which were cut earlier in the war. That is why plants often have several, with various backups built in. read more POWER LINESĮxternal power lines are essential to the safe operation of a nuclear power plant. Grossi has called for an immediate stop to the shelling as well as for a more formal protection zone to be set up around the plant to reduce the risk of catastrophe. A runaway chain reaction can, however, cause a major accident like those at Fukushima or Chernobyl. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling at the site that has damaged buildings and brought down power lines essential to cooling fuel in its six reactors, even when the reactors are in cold shutdown as they are now.Ĭontrolled fission, the splitting of nuclear fuel atoms inside a reactor core, generates heat that turns water into steam to spin turbines and produce electricity. Ukrainian staff have, however, continued to operate the plant, albeit in stressful conditions that the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly described as unsafe.ĭespite the Russian occupation, Ukraine continues to decide what happens at the plant in terms of which reactors operate and how, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told a news conference on Monday. Zaporizhzhia has been occupied by Russian forces since March. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Register
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