SIMFEROPOL, March 6. /TASS/. There will be no discussions about declaring the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant a so-called "zone", as it is owned by Russia, acting Zaporozhye Region Governor Yevgeny Balitsky said on Monday.
"Repeated proposals have been made to discuss some ‘settlement mechanisms’, but all of them envisaged proclaiming [the station] a certain `zone’. All issues around the power plant have been sorted out. [Russian] President [Vladimir Putin] decreed to transfer the nuclear power plant to Russia. <…> The nuke plant is Russian and it will work in the interests of the Zaporozhye Region and the territory of the Russian Federation," Balitsky told Crimea24 television.
It will be possible to operate the nuke plant at its full capacity as soon as the line of engagement is pushed back far enough so that Ukrainian troops stop shelling it, Balitsky underscored. Currently, the facility is well-protected, so the Ukrainians have been attacking the accompanying infrastructure as well as power lines to prevent it from functioning in full, he added.
"We have been quite good at protecting the power plant itself - a good many drones and MLRS rockets have been downed above it. They [Ukrainian troops] have not been attacking it. They [have been attacking] the surrounding infrastructure, bringing down substations, power lines, and infrastructure facilities. They have been seeking to disrupt the power plant so that it fails to supply electricity to the Zaporozhye Region," the official said.
According to Balitsky, two units of the plant are in the hot shutdown mode, providing thermal power to Energodar and covering the NPP’s needs.
Situation around ZNPP
Russia has repeatedly drawn international attention to Ukrainian shelling of the Zaporozhye NPP. Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stated in early December that an agreement to establish a safety zone around the Zaporozhye plant could be reached soon. Alexey Likhachev, the head of Russia’s Rosenergoatom nuclear power engineering company, previously noted that the safety model being discussed with Grossi ruled out any shelling of the facility. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side has been insisting on the demilitarization of the ZNPP, which implies the withdrawal of the Russian security team from there.
Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the Rosatom CEO, emphasized that Russia supported the idea of establishing a safety and security zone around the nuclear facility as he said a moratorium on any "artillery activities" in the area were an initial and essential condition for that. Russia will never undermine its national interests or the interests of its nuclear sector, he assured.