Zaporizhzhia

2022 - 3 - 3

Ukraine nuclear plant - nuclear plant in ukraine - nuclear power plant on fire - ukraine power plant

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

After Fire, Russian Troops Seize Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (The New York Times)

Security camera footage showed a building ablaze inside the complex amid fighting. The fire was later extinguished. A Ukrainian agency said that Russian ...

Starting this past Sunday, three days into the invasion, Ukraine’s nuclear regulator began reporting an unusual rate of disconnection: Six of the nation’s 15 reactors were offline. A spokesman for the nuclear plant, Andriy Tuz, was quoted by The Associated Press as telling Ukrainian television that shells had set fire to one of the plant’s six reactors that was under renovation and not operating. But an additional danger at the Zaporizhzhia site is the many acres of open pools of water behind the complex where spent fuel rods have been cooled for years. In comparison, the Chernobyl plant in northern Ukraine produced 3,800 megawatts — about a third less. About an hour after dawn, Ukraine’s nuclear regulatory inspectorate said in a statement that Russian military forces were now occupying the complex. The director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said that troops were “moving directly” toward the reactor site.

What we know about Russia's capture of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear ... (NPR)

Heavy fighting caused a fire to break out near one of the Zaporizhzhia plant's six reactors, but Ukrainian authorities say the fire has been extinguished.

You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.

European markets sink as Russia seizes Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia ... (Fortune)

European markets are plummeting this morning following Russia's capture of Europe's largest nuclear power station, Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine.

Yandex—the “Russian Google”—has warned it may default on its debt owing to its suspension from New York trading. After Amazon told the FTC it has provided all the information its antitrust investigators require, the agency will now need to make its call by mid-March, giving the companies more certainty. Amazon has reportedly moved to force a decision by the Federal Trade Commission on its $6.5 billion MGM movie and television studio acquisition. McKinsey has stopped working for state-owned Russian entities and stopped taking on new client work in Russia, and BCG is suspending work with all Russian clients, while retaining its Russian staff for now. That’s possibly something to do with its oligarch owner, Vagit Alekperov, reportedly losing $6.9 billion of his personal wealth as a result of the crisis. And then there are the contained ruins of Chernobyl itself, which the Russians grabbed a week ago. The centrist leader may also be helped by the fact that his far-right rivals were pretty cozy with Putin. Financial Times The seizure of Zaporizhzhia took place early this morning, following Russian shelling of the plant that caused a significant fire—thankfully in a training building rather than a reactor unit. (Bonus read: Fortune’s Yvonne Lau on how China can provide a SWIFT alternative for Russia, but may not want to.) Moscow Times Meanwhile, here’s some cause to believe sanctions are having a real effect: Russia’s second-biggest oil firm Lukoil, which just a couple of days ago said it was profiting handsomely from soaring energy prices, has begged the Russian government to stop the war. “You want to live on an Earth that isn’t radioactive. “Tell them you want to live,” he said.

Zaporizhzhia: How dangerous was Russia's attack at nuclear power ... (CNN)

Russian troops have occupied Europe's largest nuclear power plant, after fierce fighting near the Ukrainian facility that drew international condemnation ...

"It seems to me unlikely that such an impact would result in a Chernobyl-like nuclear event (but) this has never been tested and it is not impossible." "Even if they were not aiming for the nuclear plant, artillery is notoriously inaccurate in a time of war." Electricity at the Fukushima plant in Japan was cut off during the nuclear disaster there in 2011, while the reactors themselves remained intact. The plant had not sustained any critical damage in the attack, Andrii Tuz, a plant spokesman, told CNN on Friday. The Chernobyl disaster took place at a plant that used Soviet-era, graphite-moderated RBMK reactors. Because wittingly or unwittingly, you can very quickly go into a disaster, and this is why we're so concerned." They've been preparing for this (attack)," Zelensky said in the post, adding "our guys are keeping the atomic power station secure." Ukrainian officials quickly sounded the alarm about the potential implications of the attack. It said staff are working on the power units to ensure stable operation. Four of the remaining units are being cooled down while one unit is providing power, the statement said. "Completely uncharted waters." "No country besides Russia has ever fired upon an atomic power plant's reactors.

Are the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear plants the same ... (Interesting Engineering)

We are entering uncharted territory following the first military attack on an operational nuclear power plant.

The nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia is located 310 miles away from Chernobyl and it has a total capacity of 5.7 gigawatts, enough to power more than 4 million homes. Reports have also emerged that the reactors weren't compromised and no radiation escaped, though Russian forces are now occupying the Zaporizhzhia site. A fire spotted at the Zaporizhzhia site was reportedly confined to living quarters, meaning the likelihood of devastation similar to the meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986 is mercifully low.

Latest Ukraine updates: US slams Russian nuclear plant attack (Aljazeera.com)

Ukraine-Russia news from March 4: At UNSC meeting, Ukrainian envoy accuses Russia of 'nuclear terrorism'.

“The director of the plant said that the nuclear safety is now guaranteed. “But if the spent fuel pond, which is where they put the used fuel, was hit – it could easily by a multiple of the effect of Chernobyl,” he said. Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broke out. There are no victims,” the emergency services said in a statement on Facebook. “He said [the UK] would do everything it could to ensure the situation did not deteriorate further.” And it threatened the safety of civilians across Russia, Ukraine and Europe.” “And overnight, we’ve also seen reports about the attack against a nuclear power plant. Putin has already snatched away from Russia its economy, relations with the world and hope for a future,” he added. “Any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the principles of international law. Russian forces have seized control of Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. As they were leaving the Ukrainian sabotage group set fire to the training facility,” Nebenzya said. “He needs to pull back, accept a negotiated outcome and stop killing innocent civilians in Ukraine.”

Russian column heads toward Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant ... (National Post)

LVIV — The mayor of the Ukrainian town of Energodar said a column of Russian troops was headed toward the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's…

Russian forces seize Ukrainian nuclear power plant after shelling ... (The Washington Post)

Russian forces in Ukraine seized Europe's largest nuclear plant Friday after their shelling set part of the complex on fire, sparking fears across the ...

The weapons: Ukraine is making use of weapons such as Javelin antitank missiles and Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, provided by the United States and other allies. “It is extremely important that the nuclear power plants are not put at risk in any way,” IAEA Director General Grossi said earlier this week. Grossi said Wednesday at a news conference that two sites where radioactive materials are present had already been hit in the fighting. “You could have a situation where you have low-level waste, a release of radioactive material. Gregory Jaczko, who served as the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under President Barack Obama, said if the fire reached an area with fuel, that could lead to a “significant release” of radiation. The view then pans right to show that a white building appears to be on fire, a bright blaze obscuring the entrance. “The reactors there just couldn’t cool themselves, and it caused significant radioactive emissions,” he said. Ten minutes later, at 1:40 a.m., the Enerhodar mayor posted on his Telegram channel that the plant was on fire. The U.N. nuclear watchdog said the fire had not affected “essential” equipment and that Ukraine’s regulator reported no change in surrounding radiation levels. “It’s not as dangerous as Chernobyl, but tank fire and nuclear reactors are never a good combination,” he said. Only one of the plant’s six reactors was still generating power for the grid, the spokesman said. The office of Enerhodar’s mayor said Friday in a Telegram post that three Ukrainian service members were killed and two wounded.

Russia seizes control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after ... (The Globe and Mail)

Assault caused fire at Europe's largest nuclear facility, but Ukrainian officials say technicians were able to shut down reactors without any radioactive ...

Plant employees should be forced to think that the attacking forces “are hitting nuclear power units with tanks,” Mr. Varvarov said. Shutdown of the nuclear reaction in a unit takes seconds, she said. Russian state media blamed Ukraine for setting the fire as a provocation, but the projectile came “from the Russian forces,” Mr. Grossi said. “Ukrainian authorities have been deliberately exaggerating risks as a way to rally support and further demonize Russia.” The end of Europe – this is the evacuation of Europe,” Mr. Zelensky said. The flames were extinguished by sunrise, but a picture shared with The Globe and Mail shows extensive damage to the top three floors of the building. “People of Ukraine! We survived the night that could have stopped the course of history – history of Ukraine, history of Europe,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address Friday morning. “It is carried out in strict compliance with operating instructions and technological regulations.” Inside Zaporizhzhia, meanwhile, technicians and engineers were able to do shift changes after some worked for 29 hours to maintain operations as the station came under attack. “There has been no release of radioactive material.” If there is an explosion, it is the end of everything. The plant normally produces a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity.

Ukrainian nuclear power plant attack condemned as Russian troops 'occupy' facility (unknown)

Russian troops have occupied Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant, with managers working at "gunpoint" after a fire caused by their attack was extinguished ...

The IAEA said in a statement that Ukraine had informed it staff held at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant since Russian military forces took control of the site a week ago were facing "psychological pressure and moral exhaustion." Petro Kotin, head of Ukraine's nuclear power operator Energoatom, later reported that management were operating at "gunpoint." He said on Telegram that Russian forces "entered the territory of the nuclear power plant, took control of the personnel and management of the nuclear power plant." The Russian government has routinely and without evidence claimed the Ukrainian government is staging "provocations" to provoke a military response by Western governments.It's the not first nuclear plant to come under threat from the Russian invasion. On the first day of the assault, Russian forces seized control of the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, according to Ukrainian officials. In a video briefing, Russian Ministry of Defense spokesperson Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Russian forces took the city of Enerhodar, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the territory adjacent to it on February 28. Konashenkov claimed the plant's technical staff continued regular work on the facilities, but that Ukrainian forces attempted a "monstrous provocation" in the early hours of Friday. Konashenkov also claimed the Ukrainians had set fire to the training building themselves.Smoke rises from tire barricades set on fire in Enerhoda, Ukraine, on March 3. He said that what happens next at Zaporizhzhia is "a situation that is very difficult to sustain, very fragile" while there is an active military operation and Russian forces in control. He explained that a Russian projectile had hit a building within the site, causing a localized fire, but none of the reactors were affected and radiation monitoring systems are fully functional.Ukrainian staff are still at the helm of operations at the plant, but "effective control" of the site was in the hands of Russian forces, Grossi said, adding: "I hope the distinction is clear." "We are fortunate there has not been a release of radioactive material and the integrity of the reactors has not been compromised," he said. However, he also expressed his gratitude to NATO countries that have shown support for Ukraine.Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the establishment of a no-fly zone in Ukraine by the US and it's NATO allies could lead to a "full-fledged war in Europe," but said Washington would continue to work with it's allies to provide Ukrainians with the means to defend themselves from Russian aggression.Reports of the attack on the facility emerged early Friday morning, with video of the scene showing bursts of gunfire apparently directed at the Zaporizhzhia facility before dawn.Flames could also be seen on video footage, though for some time it was unclear where the fire was or the scale of the threat posed to the facility. However, the operator and regulator have relayed to the IAEA that the situation on the ground is "extremely tense and challenging," he warned. Former CIA officer explains the challenges of tracking oligarchs' yachts'They want to kill people:' Syrian journalist compares Russia's involvement in Syria and UkraineRetired general reacts to new images of 40-mile long Russian convoy'A beacon of hope': CNN sits with composer using music to help Ukrainians 'This is what you get': Ukraine claims to have defeated convoy Woman who was inside bombed hospital gives birthEx-CIA official explains who Putin should be afraid ofUkrainians resort to desperate measures for food and waterFormer CIA officer explains the challenges of tracking oligarchs' yachts'They want to kill people:' Syrian journalist compares Russia's involvement in Syria and UkraineRetired general reacts to new images of 40-mile long Russian convoy'A beacon of hope': CNN sits with composer using music to help Ukrainians 'This is what you get': Ukraine claims to have defeated convoy Woman who was inside bombed hospital gives birthEx-CIA official explains who Putin should be afraid ofUkrainians resort to desperate measures for food and waterRussian troops have occupied Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant, with managers working at "gunpoint" after a fire caused by their attack was extinguished, according to Ukrainian nuclear officials.

Zaporizhzhia

Explore the last week