A nearby fire sparked by Russian shelling disconnected the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the Ukrainian grid for the first time in its history, Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom reported on Aug. 25. The two operating reactors at the plant suffered a “complete disconnection” from the grid, according to Energoatom. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Ukraine had informed the organization that the reactors’ emergency protection systems were triggered. While all safety systems remained operational, all six reactors at the plant were still disconnected from the electricity grid even after the temporarily severed power line had gone back up, the report says. World leaders have been gravely concerned about Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, since it was seized by Russian forces in early March. The situation was deteriorating, as the repeated shelling near the site raised fears of a nuclear catastrophe. (…) “Almost every day there is a new incident at or near the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant,” the IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said, underscoring the urgent need for an IAEA expert mission to be allowed access to the site. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of putting Ukraine and other European countries on the verge of a radiation catastrophe in his evening address later in the day. He reassured the nation that the government is doing everything to prevent an emergency scenario.
via kyivindependent: Russian shelling disconnects Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant from Ukrainian grid, operator says