MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/. The European Union’s reaction to Ukraine’s attacks on the Zaporozhye nuclea power plant cannot be considered as adequate, Russian Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said in an interview with RT, fragments of which were posted on its website on Friday.
"It is somewhat strange to hear that the European Union’s reaction was immediate. Yes, it was not delayed, but it was inadequate," he said.
The Russian defense ministry said earlier that on Thursday the 44th artillery brigade of the Ukrainian army shelled the Zaporozhye nuclear plant from 152mm artillery from the positions in the settlement of Nikopol. As a result of the attack, damage was done to the heat plant and equipment of spray cooling ponds of the reactor coolant system. The plant’s critical infrastructure was not damaged and the reactors are operating routinely.
The Zaporozhye NPP is Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant. With a capacity of around 6,000 megawatt, it generated a fourth of Ukraine’s electricity. Since 1996, it was part of Ukraine’s Energoatom generating company. In March 2022, control over the nuclear plant came over to Russian forces. Now, the plant is operating at 70% of its capacity due to the oversupply of electricity on the liberated territories of the Zaporozhye region. It is planned to supply electricity from the plant to Crimea.