On August 5, around 2:30 p.m., Russian soldiers fired near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Three "arrivals" were recorded near the ZNPP industrial site.
This is reported in "Energoatom".
According to the information of Ukrainian nuclear engineers, the Russians hit the 330 kV high-voltage communication line of the autotransformer of the ZNPP — Zaporizhzhia TPP.
"Despite the provocations of the rioters, the ZNPP continues to work and deliver power to the energy system of Ukraine through the lines that are working. According to their capacity, a decision was made to unload and disconnect one of the operating power units of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from the network," Energoatom noted.
After the shelling, there were no emissions and discharges of radioactive substances.
- ZNPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, was occupied on March 4, 2022.
- On August 2, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated that Russia uses the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP as a military base that serves as a kind of "nuclear shield" for the occupiers. According to him, Russian troops are constantly firing at Ukrainian forces from the territory of the nuclear power plant but do not receive a response because the Armed Forces cannot prevent an accident at the plant.
- The occupiers deny such claims. The representative of the Russian Federation at the UN stated that "there are no military formations at the NPP, except for a limited number of military personnel necessary to control its security."
- On August 2, Ukraine called on the UN to close the sky over nuclear power plants. There are currently 15 nuclear power units operating in Ukraine, each of which can become a target for Russian aircraft or missiles.
- On August 3, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, stated that all nuclear safety measures were violated at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP — it was completely out of the organizationʼs control.