TC Web Desk
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been completely shut down as a security measure, the state agency in charge of the plant, Energoatom, said.
Unit No. 6 was disconnected from the grid at 3:41 a.m. local time on Sunday after the agency “completely shut down” the plant.
“Preparations are underway to cool it down and transfer it to a cold state,” the statement said.
Kyiv last week urged residents of Russian-controlled areas surrounding Europe’s largest factory to evacuate for their own safety.
Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling the nuclear plant, risking a nuclear disaster.
One of the 10 largest nuclear power plants in the world, the plant has been occupied by the Russian military since the first day of the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the demilitarization of the surrounding area.
In an earlier video address, Mr Zelenskyy said he had spoken about the nuclear plant with French President Emmanuel Macron, while applauding Ukraine’s recent success against Russian troops in the north-eastern part of the country.
He said Ukraine’s armed forces had liberated around 2,000 square kilometers since they retaliated against Russia earlier this month, forcing the Russians to “Run”.
The Zaporizhzhia plant, which was damaged by Russian shelling, is now operated by Ukraine’s energy system, Energoatom said.
It added that it had restored a communications line to the power system to operational capacity, allowing operations to be halted.
“A decision was made to shut down power unit No. 6 and transfer it to the safest state — cold shutdown,” it said.
It said the risk of further damage to the line “remains high”, which would force the plant to be “powered by diesel generators, the duration of which is limited by the technological resource and the amount of available diesel fuel.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog which has two experts at the plant, had called for a safe zone around the plant to avert a disaster.
