Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has reportedly been seized by Russian military forces, according to regional authorities.
An update written at 7.30 am on the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine’s Facebook page reads:
The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is captured by the military forces of the Russian Federation.”
However, the inspectorate says employees are continuing to work on the premises, while operational personnel control the safe condition of the power units.
According to the inspectorate units, two and three have been disconnected from the network and nuclear installations are being cooled down
“Changes in the radiation state for the current time have not been recorded,” the update adds.
However, the potential loss of cooling nuclear fuel could lead to “significant radioactive emissions into the environment” and such an event “may outgrow all previous NPP accidents, including the Chernobyl NPP and Fukushima-Daichi NPP” the authority says, adding that any damage to a reservoir of processed nuclear fuel as a result of the shelling could also lead to radioactive discharge.
