VIENNA, November 29. /TASS/. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) was reconnected to the single remaining 750kV power supply line following a cut over the weekend.
The plant was disconnected from its main power supply line as a result of a short circuit on November 26. The connection was restored on the same day, IAEA said.
"The plant’s vulnerable off-site power supplies remain one of our main concerns when it comes to nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. As we have experienced multiple times, including last winter, attacks far away from the site can cause severe disruptions in the electricity grid that also serves the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. All military action that could endanger nuclear safety and security must be avoided," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said.
IAEA monitors deployed at the nuclear power plant reported hearing sounds of artillery and rocket fire. In this regard, Grossi called upon all sides to "to exercise utmost restraint at or near the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. "
"No one would gain a military advantage from causing a nuclear accident," the IAEA chief added.
Located in Energodar, the Zaporozhye nuclear facility, with roughly 6GW of capacity, is the largest of its kind in Europe. Russia took control of the plant on February 28, 2022, in the first days of its special military operation in Ukraine. Since then, units of the Ukrainian army have periodically conducted shelling both of residential districts in nearby Energodar and the premises of the nuclear plant itself, by means of drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). In most cases, air defense systems repel the attacks, although several times shells hit infrastructure facilities and the vicinity of a nuclear waste storage depot. In order to protect the ZNPP against shelling attacks, engineering structures, forming a safety net of sorts, have been built on its premises.
Addressing a UN Security Council session on May 30, Grossi put forward five security principles for the ZNPP: there should be no attack of any kind from or against the plant; ZNPP should not be used as storage or a base for heavy weapons or military personnel that could be used for an attack from the plant; off-site supply of power to the plant should not be put at risk; all structures, systems and components essential to the safe and secure operation of ZNPP should be protected from attacks or acts of sabotage; and, finally, no action should be taken that undermines these principles. Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said measures taken by Moscow are consistent with these principles.