Russia using Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to 'blackmail, intimidate' global community

Hryhorii Plachkov, former head of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine, told Espreso about this.

"The situation at the ZNPP is difficult, so operating on diesel generators, which is not the station's designed mode of operation, relies on the emergency systems at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," says Hryhoriy Plachkov. "Next, there are two options: either continue to operate on diesel generators, or connect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to a power supply for its own needs. In my opinion, this is a kind of trap. They will now launch their own power transmission line, we will strike it, and they will say that we are creating a catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Therefore, what is happening now is a probing of the ground, in order to reconnect the ZNPP to the Russian power grid or to the power grid operating in the occupied territories and in occupied Crimea to meet the station's needs."

If the Russian Federation succeeds in reconnecting to their line, does this mean they will try to start at least one of the power units? 

It's hard to say. I don't understand how they will do it without the Kakhovka reservoir and without one of the cooling towers, which was burned down. In addition, the IAEA mission is still present at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. This is still a factor that restrains the Russians from a technical point of view.

"Is it possible to restart or bring at least one power unit to capacity? I think that it is currently impossible to do this safely. And it's not just because it requires water (for the cooling pond, - ed.), but because a consumer is needed."

If they try to reconnect the station for the needs of the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, or for the needs of occupied Crimea or the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, we should not forget that their power transmission line is not so far from the line of combat. And our special services are working quite effectively not only on the energy enterprises of the disrespectful Russian Federation.

There is a lot of news now that the lack of power at the ZNPP could lead to an accident and we will have a "second Fukushima"...

I cannot say that there will be a Fukushima there. Firstly, the factors are different. After all, at Fukushima there was an earthquake and a tsunami. The station was indeed left without external power, as is happening at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, but their diesel generators failed for various reasons.

Secondly, at Fukushima, the reactors were at power. At the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the reactors are in a state of cold shutdown. Therefore, there will not be a catastrophe of the same scale as at Fukushima or Chornobyl. But still, some local accidents could happen if there is no external power and the diesel generators do not work. In that case, the residual heat from the rods in the reactor core will not be removed, and eventually they will begin to melt.

However, the reactor core itself, the concrete containment over the nuclear facility, and the fuel itself are designed to prevent catastrophic consequences, because many conclusions have been drawn since the accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima. But causing trouble at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is as easy as one-two. It doesn't take much thought to melt the reactor cores.

"This is also one of the Russian options – to melt the reactor cores so that when the ZNPP returns to Ukrainian control, they will either have to be repaired for a very long time, or they cannot be returned to commercial operation."

Also, in my opinion, the situation at the ZNPP is an element of blackmail and intimidation of the international community with a hypothetical catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. As a person who has extended the life of five power units, I understand what is happening at the NPP from a regulatory, technical, and managerial policy perspective, because I worked at the Ministry of Energy. But from the enemy's point of view, it's hard for me to understand what's in their heads. Because at the ZNPP there is military equipment present, and the station is mined both on the perimeter and within the perimeter. As the IAEA says, seven safety factors have been violated. But how the IAEA will view what is happening at the station is also difficult to answer. Because today they expressed concern, and the next day Mr. Grossi opened an international exhibition in St. Petersburg with Kiriyenko.

The ZNPP is the first precedent in history of the seizure of a civilian nuclear facility. I'm not talking about military ones, for example, Iran, where the IAEA lost regulatory control over the Iranian nuclear program. I respect the IAEA for their missions, for their presence at the station. But when we look at the disrespectful Russian Federation, which is not only seizing the Zaporizhzhia NPP, but also making a hole in the new safe confinement over the Chornobyl NPP unit, which caused trouble not only in Ukraine but also in Europe, what can we talk about? This is nuclear energy, after all. Everything there should work like a Swiss watch: precisely, without failures, with timely maintenance. Then this facility will serve for a very, very long time. But in a situation like the one we have at the ZNPP, it is very difficult to calculate the likely scenarios of events and their consequences.

• On Tuesday, September 23, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant experienced its tenth blackout since being occupied by Russian forces in 2022.