Post by : Rameen Ariff

Ukraine has accused Russia of deliberately severing the external power connection to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, claiming Moscow is attempting to reconnect the facility to Russia’s national power grid.

According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Russia intentionally cut off the external electricity link as part of a test to integrate the nuclear plant with its own grid. “Russia intentionally broke the plant’s connection with the Ukrainian grid in order to forcefully test reconnection with the Russian grid,” Sybiha wrote on X, calling it an “attempted theft of a peaceful Ukrainian nuclear facility.”

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, has been under Russian control since the early weeks of the 2022 invasion. It currently produces no electricity and has been running on emergency diesel generators for nearly three weeks to keep its reactors cool and prevent a potential meltdown.

Ukraine has long warned that Moscow might try to redirect the plant’s electricity output for its own use. However, Russian officials have consistently denied these claims, saying they have no plans to restart the facility under current conditions.

Sybiha also accused Russia of misleading the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the global community, saying, “Moscow tries to fool the IAEA and the whole technical and diplomatic community by pretending that the problem is caused by anyone other than itself.”

Both sides have accused each other of shelling that caused the recent power line outage. Meanwhile, the IAEA, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, confirmed that efforts are underway to restore the external connection and urged both countries to avoid actions that could threaten nuclear safety.

In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized Russia for creating unsafe conditions at the plant and called on the IAEA to take a stronger and more transparent stance. “It is not in Russia’s interest to restore safety at the plant,” Zelenskiy said.

While Ukraine continues to press international bodies to act, Russian officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, told Interfax news agency that there are currently “no grounds” to restart the plant without a stable external power source. However, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom previously indicated it was preparing to restart the facility.

The situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains a major concern for global energy security and nuclear safety, as ongoing power disruptions increase the risk of an environmental disaster.

#world news #Global News