Ukraine has warned of danger of hydrogen leaks after Russian army shelling.
The country’s energy agency has warned of the danger of “hydrogen leaks and sputtering of radioactive material” at nuclear power plants currently controlled by Vladimir Putin’s army.
Energoatom – a state-run agency that operates all four of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities – revealed that two generator sets in Zaporozhye had been reconnected to the country’s grid.
Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and fire overview in Enerhodar, Zaporozhye region
(Reuters)
“At the same time, there are serious risks to the safe operation of the ZNPP due to the presence of the Russian military and its weapons, equipment and explosives in the power plant,” the agency wrote on its website.
“Due to periodic shelling, the power plant infrastructure has been damaged, there is a risk of hydrogen leakage and radioactive sputtering, and there is a high fire hazard.”
Moscow and Kyiv exchanged fresh accusations Saturday that the shelling of the Russian-held Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Ukraine, where fighting in the region could lead to disaster, has been in the international spotlight.
Zaporozhye, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has been under the control of Russian forces since early March. Ukrainian workers continue to operate it, and in recent weeks the two sides have accused each other of shelling near the factory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that the situation in Zaporozhye remained “very dangerous” after two of the plant’s six reactors were reconnected to the grid following a shelling that left the plant in its history Disconnect for the first time.
“Let me stress that the situation is still very dangerous and dangerous,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his regular evening address, praising Ukrainian experts for their efforts to “avoid the worst.”
“Any replay of yesterday’s events, which means any disconnection of the plant from the grid, any action by Russia that could trigger a disconnection of the reactor, will once again keep the plant out of disaster,” Mr Zelensky said.
Fears of Russia’s Ukrainian nuclear power plant
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Energoatom said late Friday that both of the plant’s functioning reactors had been reconnected to the grid and powered again after being completely disconnected on Thursday.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February and took control of the plant in March, although it is still operated by Ukrainian technicians working for Energoatom.
Russia’s foreign ministry also said in its daily briefing that it had destroyed a large ammunition depot in Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk region containing shells from the U.S.-made HIMARS rocket system and M777 howitzer.
The ministry said the Russian Air Force shot down a MiG-29 in the eastern Donetsk region and destroyed six other missile and artillery arsenals in the Donetsk, Nikolayev and Kherson regions .
