Unsafe for Russia to restart Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, says Ukraine energy chief | Ukraine

It would be unsafe for Russia Restart the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and will take Ukraine Up to the time of peace if it regains control, the CEO of the company that runs the location of the six vast six.

Petro Cotton, CEO of Energatom, said in an interview that there are “major problems” to overcome – including insufficient cooling water, employees and incoming electricity supplies – before the power generation begins safely.

The future of the Zaporizhzia factory, the largest nuclear reactor in Europe, is an important aspect of any negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Russia seized it in the spring of 2022 and its closure for safety reasons after a few months, remaining on the conflict lines, near the Dnipro River.

Russia said it intends to keep the site and replace it again, without being specific to when. Alexei Lee Kochov, head of the Russian nuclear operator Rosatom, said in February, it will be restarted when “military and political conditions” allows “military and political conditions.”

Meanwhile, Donald Trump expressed his interest in controlling him, Although this possibility is very far.

Coton said Energatom is ready to restart the factory, but it will require the removal of Russian forces and the site is removed and the site supplies.

He said that such restart by Ukraine will take anywhere “from two to two years” in an environment “without any threats from armies”, while the Russian operation during the war “will be impossible, even for one unit. [reactor]”.

Koten said that the six reactors can be brought on the Internet until after the completion of 27 safety programs with the nuclear organizer in Ukraine, including the nuclear fuel test in the reactor’s nuclei because it exceeded the “design of design” for a period of six years.

This raises questions about whether Russia can restart the factory after a ceasefire without incurring a great danger. Cotton said the factory was not already safe, given that it was used as a military base with military vehicles, “and there was” perhaps some weapons and bombing materials. “

Russia She confessed It has placed mines between the internal and external ocean of the plant to “deter the potential Ukrainian saboteurs” while the inspectors of the International Nuclear Energy Agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency. I mentioned The armed forces and military personnel are present at the site.

Last month, The US Energy Ministry said The Zaporizhzia factory was operated through “non -adequate workers staff and trainers”, with employment levels in less than a third of the pre -war levels.

The American briefing said that the Ukrainian reactors, although they were originally for the Soviet Vver design, “evolved differently” from their Russian counterparts and “especially safety systems”. She said that the Russian specialists working as alternatives to Ukrainian employees were “experienced” in the operation of Ukrainian variables.

Koten said that the attempt to restart the factory by Russia would not be accepted or supported by Ukraine. He said that this requires an additional 750KV to enter the factory.

The nuclear reactor requires a large amount of energy for daily operation, and three of the four high voltage lines of the regions are now under Russian occupation. “They destroyed the lines themselves,” he added, for Russia to discover engineers who were unable to rebuild them as the war continued.

There are still only two lines to keep the site in cold closure, a 750 -volt line coming from Ukraine, an additional 330 kV line – although the bombing on eight separate occasions has disrupted energy supply, forcing the factory to rely on backup generators.

Experts say that a pumping station should be built on the site, because there is not enough cooling water available. June 2023 was destroyed by Russian soldiers in the Nova Dam as Fear in the direction of the river course eliminating the easy supply of water from the Dnibro River.

According to two civilians, two civilians were killed by Russian missile attacks on Sunday, including attacks in a ballistic missile strike in the East Kiev region; While Russia said it had acquired a border village near Sumi in northeastern Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia launched more than 1460 guided air bikes, about 670 drones, and more than 30 missiles during the past week. “The number of air attacks is increasing,” said Ukrainian president.

The ceasefire talks, in which the United States has briefed limited results so far. The two sides agreed to stop attacking energy goals, although each accuses the other of violations; While the ceasefire was approved by Ukraine, it was not accepted by Russia.

A Russian official involved in the negotiations on Sunday said that diplomatic contacts between Russia and the United States could come again early next week.