In his latest update on the situation at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said IAEA experts present at the plant had received information concerning evacuation of residents from the nearby plant operators’ town of Energodar. This comes in the context of reports in the Russian, Ukrainian and Western media of an expected major counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces focused on the Zaporozhye region.
Acting head of the Zaporozhye region Yevhen Balitsky earlier had announced the evacuation of residents of 18 settlements deep into the region away from the expected area of conflict, multiple Russian media reported. This was expected to involve some 70,000 people from the named towns, which included Energodar. Balitsky said he expects a counteroffensive by Ukraine in the near future. He said, in face of increased shelling, it was decided to temporarily remove children with their parents, the elderly, disabled people, and hospital patients from 18 front-line settlements. "Families with children are invited to leave the city for a short time in more peaceful places prepared for living. All this will be done in an organised manner and under strict control," his statement reads.
Both the Advisor to the Director General of the Regenerator, Renat Karchaa, and member of the Main Council of the regional administration, Vladimir Rogov, reported that the evacuation of employees of the NPP was not planned at this time. Karchaa reported that additional security measures had been taken at ZNPP in connection with possible Ukrainian attacks. He said Ukraine could “easily” organise a provocation ZNPP, but added: “We are ready for this, and sufficient security measures have been taken."
Since Russia took control of ZNPP in March 2022, the Russian national guard has been protecting the station and in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree formally transferring ZNPP to Russian jurisdiction under nuclear utility Rosenergoatom (part of Rosatom). A Russian Federal State Unitary Enterprise. Zaporizhia NPP was established by Rosenergoatom to operate the plant. However, Ukrainian nuclear utility Energoatom still claims ownership of the plant. Reports by Russian military analysts suggest that retaking control of ZNPP is one of the objectives of the coming Ukrainian offensive.
Grossi said that, while operating staff remain at the site, he was deeply concerned about the increasingly tense, stressful, and challenging conditions for personnel – and their families. He said the IAEA experts at the site are continuing to hear shelling on a regular basis.
“The general situation in the area near the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous. I’m extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant. We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences for the population and the environment. This major nuclear facility must be protected. I will continue to press for a commitment by all sides to achieve this vital objective, and the IAEA will continue to do everything it can to help ensure nuclear safety and security at the plant,” he said.
The IAEA experts at the ZNPP site were not able to visit Enerhodar in recent days. But they have received information about the situation regarding the evacuation in the town, which is part of a wider temporary evacuation in the region, Grossi said.
IAEA cited ZNPP Site Director Yuri Chernichuk has publicly stated that operating staff are not being evacuated and that they are doing everything necessary to ensure nuclear safety and security at the plant, whose six reactors are all in cold shutdown mode. Until recently unit 5 was being maintained in hot shutdown to provide heat to the plant site. He also said that plant equipment is maintained in accordance with all necessary nuclear safety and security regulations. Since the beginning of the conflict almost 15 months ago, the number of staff at the ZNPP has gradually declined but site management has stated that it has remained sufficient for the safe operation of the plant, IAEA said.
"The staff of Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant is doing everything necessary to ensure nuclear safety. There is no reason to worry. All blocks are stopped. The equipment is serviced in accordance with all the necessary regulations, while strictly monitoring radiation safety standards," Chernichuk said in a statement. He added that Balitsky's decision to temporarily remove some categories of citizens "is primarily due to concern about the psychological state of children”.
Russian media outlet Neftegaz.ru reported that experts of the IAEA Support & Assistance Mission in Zaporizhia (ISAMZ) had provided updated information on the situation at the plant. ISAMZ reportedly provided the following information:
The Russian authorities have begun evacuating citizens of the city of Energodar, where most of the NPP personnel live;ISAMZ experts are monitoring the situation for any potential impact on nuclear safety;operating personnel remain at the ZNPP;shelling is heard on a regular basis and the overall situation in the region is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous;ISAMZ experts were unable to visit Energodar in recent days, but received information about the evacuation in the city.Rosenergoatom said that, in addition to a possible counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces ZNPP is facing a serious problem of external power supply, which is under Ukraine’s control. The Russian authorities are trying to provide electricity from the Russian power grid, but the power line has not yet been completed.
Another recently reported problem was the threat of flooding of the NPP in the event of a break in a dam affecting the Kakhovsky reservoir in the Zaporozhye region. Rogov and Karchaa said that the water level in the Kakhovsky reservoir had risen by 17 metres and had reached a critical point. "The break of this dam is a threat to both Energodar and Zaporizhia NPP. The power cable lines of the splash pools and pumping units will be flooded at the station. This will [create] functional problems for the plant's operation and risks for nuclear safety,” Karchaa said. He explained that at least three large settlements will be flooded: Kamenka-Dneprovskaya, Blagoveshchenka and Vodiane threatening some 18,000 people. "There are two options: either the Ukrainians stop firing and let us repair the sandors (dams) damaged by their artillery, and we will dump water and eliminate the threat, or we will have to evacuate these people," he added.
However, the following day, Karchaa said that the threat of flooding at ZNPP had "significantly decreased", after specialists opened one of the sandor gates for draining water. In addition, repair of the Kakhovsky main canal had begun. "A gate of the Kakhovka hydropower plant has been opened and repair works have begun at the Kakhovka canal. Pumps and pipes are being repaired. Water is being discharged. The risks of flooding have reduced considerably," he said.
“This was done by the military with the active participation of the administration of the Kherson region, for which I thank them. Slowly but surely, the water level has begun to subside. This is already noticeable in the reservoir in Energodar.”
In a further incident, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that they had thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian intelligence to assassinate “one of the leaders of the Zaporozhye NPP”. The official was not named. An explosive device prepared for use, as well as automatic small arms, ammunition for it, and explosives were seized from the detainees, the FSB said.
Statements from Ukraine’s Energoatom during this period only served to confuse the situation. Energoatom said that ZNPP reactor 5 had not been shut down and that Chernikov had “fled to Crimea”. Energoatom alleged that staff were seeking to flee, “because they understand that the [Ukrainian] Armed Forces are already close, so very little time is left to escape”. It also said Rosenergoatom had brought explosives into the plant. None of these statements was substantiated by IAEA. On its Telegram channel, Energoatom urged workers at the plant “not to sign any contracts with the enemy, so as not to become direct tools of the aggressor and not to destroy their own future”.
Image courtesy of RIA news agency