The president of the Ukrainian energy company Energoatom, Petro Kotin, warned on Tuesday that the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant could cease operation as a result of mismanagement by Russia, which seized the facility as part of the war.
Kotin said that when Ukrainian troops regain control of the nuclear plant, they will then be able to assess the situation at the plant and study the level of «degradation» of the facilities for its proper operation.
According to Energoatom, Russian troops have been disconnecting the facility from the power grid for months and that if Zaporiyia remains under their control any longer, it could become «impossible» to reconnect it, UNIAN reports.
In early March, just weeks after the outbreak of the war, Russia claimed control of the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe and, since then, the scene of continuous clashes between Russian and Ukrainian troops.
In fact, the tension reached such a point that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) even urged the parties to draw up a safety zone around the nuclear facilities in order to avoid a catastrophe.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
