Russia deliberately cuts power to Zaporizhia NPP to reconnect it to its power grid – Sybiha
Russia intentionally disconnected power to Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (NPP), which it received from the Ukrainian power system, in order to conduct a test for further connection of the station to its power system, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha ahs said.
"Russia deliberately cut power to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. This was a manual disconnection carried out as a test while Russia is preparing to reconnect the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP to its own power grid," he said on the X network on Thursday.
Sybiha warned that this step by Russia would be even more dangerous, because the restart of the reactor, according to him, will take place under occupation, without proper cooling, without any license and without supervision.
"A reckless move to serve Putin's show of control. Such irresponsible actions by Russia increase the risk of nuclear incidents," Sybiha said.
He said Zaporizhia NPP should be seen for what it is – a military maneuver.
The Foreign Minister called every action taken by Russia not only a mortal risk, but also steps on the path to disaster. In his opinion, the recent blackout at Chornobyl nuclear power plant, caused by a Russian strike on a power substation, once again demonstrated how Moscow uses nuclear safety as a weapon.
Sybiha called on the International Atomic Energy Agency, its member states and all relevant partners to take all possible measures to ensure the immediate restoration of the remaining backup line and several other independent external connections to Zaporizhia NPP.
He named such measures, in particular, security guarantees, observance of the ceasefire, unhindered access for repair crews and provision of specialized equipment.
As reported, on the evening of September 23, the tenth blackout occurred at Zaporizhia NPP since the beginning of the station's occupation: at 16:56, the only 750 kW power transmission grid through which it received power from the Ukrainian power system was disconnected. Since then, Zaporizhia NPP has been powered by emergency diesel generators – a record nine days.