Power lines away from the plant, vital lines of defense against a possible nuclear meltdown, have already been cut, and the shelling of Enerhodar has caused a sustained blackout there. That prompted Ukraine to say it may have to shut down the last active reactor providing power to Zaporizhia, including cooling systems for the plant’s nuclear fuel. “This is an unsustainable situation and is becoming increasingly precarious. Enerhodar has gone dark. The power plant has no off-site power. And we have seen that as soon as the infrastructure is repaired, it is destroyed once again,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of shelling near Zaporizhia in southern Ukraine and within the perimeter of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has six reactors. “This is completely unacceptable. He can’t stand,” Grossi said. “Therefore, I urgently call for the immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire region. Only this will ensure the safety and security of operational personnel and allow for the continued restoration of power to Enerhodar and the power plant.” Grossi this week called for the creation of a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around Zaporizhia, repeating his call on Friday. Zaporizhzhia’s operator isn’t sure off-site power can be restored, prompting it to consider shutting down the last active reactor, Grossi said. “The entire power plant will be fully dependent on emergency diesel generators to ensure vital nuclear safety and security functions. And as a result, the operator will not be able to restart the reactors unless off-site power is reliably restored,” he added. Russia said it supported Grossi’s call. “We fully support the #IAEA Director General’s appeal and request to immediately stop the shelling of Enerhodar town and #ZNPP,” its ambassador to the IAEA, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Twitter.
