Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant electricity restored amid Russian bombing, after energy boss' stark warning
9 March 2023, 10:44 | Updated: 9 March 2023, 15:29
The power supply to a major Ukrainian nuclear plant has been restored after a brutal Russian missile bombardment, following a stark warning by an atomic energy expert.
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That could have been very dangerous, because the external power supply runs the vital cooling systems in a nuclear power plant.
When the power supply is down, back-up generators take over. The Zaporizhzhia power plant's generators have enough diesel for 15 days.
If they ran out, the plant could then overheat and melt down - leading to a possible nuclear catastrophe.
Ukrainian government engineers restored the power supply on Thursday afternoon, in the wake of a stark warning from the head of the international atomic energy agency (IAEA).
Rafael Grossi, head of the IAEA said: "This is the sixth time – let me say it again sixth time, that ZNPP has lost all off-site power and has had to operate in this emergency mode.
"Let me remind you – this is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. What are we doing? How can we sit here in this room this morning and allow this to happen? This cannot go on. I am astonished by the complacency – what are we doing to prevent this happening?
"We are the IAEA, we are meant to care about nuclear safety. Each time we are rolling a dice. And if we allow this to continue time after time then one day our luck will run out."
Mr Grossi added: "We must commit to protect the safety and security of the plant. And we need to commit now. What we need is action."
The Russian missile strikes, which have killed at least nine people, also hit the capital Kyiv, the western city Lviv, the port city of Odesa, and Kharkiv and the Dnipropetrovsk region in the east of the country, Ukrainian officials said.
Some 15 missiles struck Kharkiv and the outlying northeastern region, hitting residential buildings, according to Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov.
He said he would reveal more details about the scale of the damage or any casualties in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
"Objects of critical infrastructure is again in the crosshairs of the occupants," he said in a Telegram post.
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Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on the Telegram social networking site that there were "problems with electricity" in some parts of the city.
The governor of the southern Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, also reported strikes on Odesa, saying that energy facilities and residential buildings were hit.
"The second wave is expected right now, so I ask the residents of the region to stay in shelters!" Mr Marchenko wrote on Telegram.
Russia has been hitting Ukraine with these massive missile attacks since last October.
Initially, the barrages targeting the country's energy infrastructure took place weekly, plunging the entire cities into darkness, but became more spread out in time, with commentators speculating that Moscow may be saving up ammunition.
The last massive barrage took place on February 16.
