No plans to withdraw troops: Russia demands a security zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

There is no plan to withdraw troops
Russia demands a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant

11/24/2022 3:27 pm

Russia has been occupying Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant for months. Grenades keep hitting the site. Now the Kremlin wants to impose a security zone on its own terms.

The Russian nuclear agency Rosatom has spoken out in favor of setting up a security zone around the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine – albeit on Moscow’s terms. “We believe in it, we need it, the parameters are clear and talks were held with Rafael Grossi (head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA),” the agency’s head, Alexei Lichtshaw, said, according to Interfax news. agency.

Likhachev also stated how he envisioned the security zone: according to it, Ukraine should neither shell the area nor try to recapture it. “In turn, it is clear that Russia is not deploying offensive weapons and forces there, but only uses means of physical protection and guarding the facility,” the head of the nuclear agency said. At the same time, the director of Rosatom announced that all power lines around the nuclear facility had been damaged. He warned that shutting down the reactor in a cold state provided only “relative safety”.

Russian ideas for the security sector differ significantly from the demands of the IAEA. A week ago, Moscow asked them to leave the occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant. Ukraine is also demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops. For months, Kyiv and Moscow repeatedly accused each other of shelling the facility.

Nuclear power plants around Kyiv are restarting

Further north, three Ukrainian nuclear power plants that were disconnected from the power grid following Russian attacks have now been reconnected. The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy announced on Telegram that it was possible to reconnect three plants controlled by Ukraine in the morning. The nuclear power plants should therefore be able to supply electricity again from the evening.

On Wednesday, state operator EnergoAtom announced on Telegram that emergency systems at three nuclear power plants Rivne, Pivdenoukrensk and Khmelnitska had been activated as a result of the Russian shelling. As a result, all reactors were automatically disconnected from the power grid. As a result, there was a complete power outage in the Kyiv region. More than two-thirds of the Ukrainian capital was without electricity – and that too in freezing temperatures. The temperature dropped below zero degrees Celsius during the night, there is already snow and the roads are icy.