Russian forces occupying the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine are preparing to link up with Crimea and are damaging the plant by rerouting its power output, Ukrainian operator Energoatom warned on Tuesday.
It is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and was occupied by Russia at the beginning of its invasion. Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other for the attacks on the plant last week.
“The Russian military at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is implementing (Russian operator) Rosatom’s program aimed at connecting the plant to the Crimean electricity grid,” Energoatom President Petro Kotin told Ukrainian television on Tuesday.
“To do this, you must first damage the power lines of the plant connected to the Ukrainian energy system. From August 7 to 9, the Russians have already damaged three power lines. Currently, the plant is operating with only one production line, which is an extremely dangerous way of working.” , he added.
“When the last production line is shut down, the plant will be powered by diesel-powered generators. Then everything will depend on their reliability and fuel reserves,” warned Mr. Cottin.
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