MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. The level of radiation on the liberated territories of the Zaporozhye Region where the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is located is within normal range after Energodar was shelled by the Ukrainian army on Thursday, member of the main council of the Zaporozhye Region’s military-civilian administration Vladimir Rogov said on Friday.
On Friday, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported that Russia’s Armed Forces, using high-precision weapons, eliminated a US-made M777 howitzer used to shell the nuclear facility. According to him, over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian troops have shelled the nuclear plant twice using large-caliber artillery. As a result of bombardments, four shells exploded in the vicinity of an oxygen-nitrogen plant and another one blew up near special facility No. 1.
"The level of radiation is within the norm, even within the limits of the natural background," Rogov told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
Earlier, he reported that the nuclear plant was not supplying electrical power anymore to the regions controlled by Kiev since on August 25, the Ukrainian army cut off the last transmission line and currently power is being supplied only to the liberated territories of the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions. The official specified that workers attempted to repair these lines several times following the bombardments yet it became too dangerous.
The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant located in Energodar is controlled by Russian troops. Over the past few days, Ukrainian forces have carried out several strikes on the Zaporozhye NPP’s premises, using, among other things, drones, heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems. The majority of attacks have been deflected by Russia’s air defense systems, however, some shells struck various infrastructure facilities and the vicinity of a nuclear waste storage facility. As a result of the August 25 Ukrainian strike on Energodar, power was cut off in a number of populated localities in the Zaporozhye Region. Additionally, since a distribution station on the Melitopol line went out of service, the Kherson Region lost power as well. Currently, power in the majority of districts and large cities has been restored.