Russia will ensure the safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant following the Kakhovka dam disaster, an adviser at national nuclear operator Rosenergoatom, Renat Karchaa, said on Tuesday.
Fears had emerged over operations at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant after the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, which lies close to the front line separating Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, was breached on June 6, flooding the city of Novaya Kakhovka as well as Kherson and the surrounding areas.
The Zaporozhye nuclear plant ordinarily relies on the Kakhovka reservoir to cool its reactors, although any safety concerns have now been allayed, according to Karchaa.
“We can say with high confidence that the nuclear safety of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant will be maintained in full,” the adviser told the Rossiya-24 TV channel. He added that a mobile pumping station was being delivered from a nuclear plant in Smolensk to help cool the reactors if necessary.
Five of the Zaporozhye plant’s six power units have been shut down. One reactor is currently producing a low level of power to keep the facility operational.
Meanwhile, water levels have gradually dropped in the area, according to the governor of Kherson Region, Vladimir Saldo.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi previously warned that the destruction of the dam could disrupt operations at the Zaporozhye nuclear facility. He said on Sunday that the water level by the Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant, which is located not far from the nuclear plant, had decreased significantly, although “water pumps continue to be operable.” Grossi, who arrived in Kiev on Tuesday, plans to visit the nuclear power plant and assess the risks.
Moscow and Kiev have blamed each other for the destruction of the dam. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops had “repeatedly” fired rockets at the dam during the conflict.