Expert: Zaporizhzhia NPP must not be connected to Russia’s power system

Nuclear-energy and nuclear-safety expert Olha Kosharna said this on Espreso.

“Yesterday Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with the IAEA director general to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. For the first time the idea of IAEA technical management of the plant by IAEA specialists was raised. Since Russia does not implement resolutions on de-occupation, the UN, the General Conference and the IAEA Board of Governors have already dealt with this,” she said.

In her view, the Russians tell Rafael Grossi that “if the Zaporizhzhia NPP is connected to the Russian power system, it’s reliable, it’s stable, it removes threats,” and so on.

“That must not be allowed, because they will try to bring at least one reactor back to power — that was what Kiriyenko was talking about — because now State Corporation Rosatom, which controls the city of Enerhodar, keeps Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia NPP afloat not from the federal Russian budget. They are suffering huge losses. So we must not allow this,” the expert said.

Kosharna believes the most effective sanctions and the best way to increase pressure would be to strike the transformer substations built with the new line from Melitopol.

“These are Molochansk, Melitopol, Henichesk and so on. Such hits already occurred in June, but they restored those transformers. Now you need hits like those at the thermal power plant in Belgorod — to the foundation. So I believe we should not listen to Russian information-operations; there was something in The Guardian about Fukushima, but you cannot compare the Fukushima conditions with earthquakes when diesel generators failed. And you can’t compare the situation with diesel generators when so many blocks have been in cold shutdown for so long. That should be the strategy,” she added.

The expert noted that the U.S. has no ideas for negotiations with Russia regarding the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

“Because Russia proposes three units to Russia, three units to Ukraine. That’s unrealistic. You need something tangible to negotiate over, because Russia will not withdraw voluntarily. That’s obvious. So by destroying transformers on the occupied territory, you can force them to restore the line, because it’s on territory they control,” Kosharna concluded.

• The occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP has been running on diesel generators as Russians deliberately keep it disconnected from the power grid.