Via The New York Times:
Artillery duels around a huge power plant on the Dnipro river raised the risk of an accident, as each side blamed the other for the explosions on Friday…
As previously written up at Daily Kos, Russia had seized the facility early on in the invasion, and has been using it as a fortress to launch artillery attacks with the expectation that Ukraine would not risk the dangers of a nuclear catastrophe by firing back.
Ukrainian technicians continue to operate the plant under Russian guard, and the situation has caused international alarm. According to the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, the biggest nuclear power complex in Europe has been operating without access to parts and vital equipment, and without access for the international teams that would normally verify the complex is being operated safely. Normal safety practices are being disregarded or are simply not possible. The situation was dangerous enough before what has just happened.
The NY Times reports:
...on Friday, artillery duels near a giant nuclear power plant on the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine created new safety risks.
Explosions in and around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex at about 2:30 p.m. destroyed electrical transmission lines and posed risks of damaging the plant, forcing engineers to alter the operation of one of its six reactors by reducing power, Ukraine’s state nuclear company, Energoatom, said.
Hours later, a second series of three explosions damaged an auxiliary building near one of the nuclear reactors, raising the risk of hydrogen leaks and fire, the company said.
Both Ukraine and Russia have charged each other with responsibility for the attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials blamed Russia for the attacks.
“This is the largest nuclear power plant on our continent, and any shelling of this facility is an open, brazen crime, an act of terror,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address. “Russia should bear responsibility for the very fact of creating a threat to the nuclear power plant.”
The Russian ministry of defense said it was Ukrainian forces who had shelled the plant, accusing them of an act of “nuclear terrorism.”
No radiation release has been detected or reported, but needless to say there are serious concerns about what may be happening in the complex. Currently three of the six reactors at the plant had been operating, two were on standby, and one was undergoing repairs. Following the damage at the complex, output from one of the reactors was reduced, possibly taking it off line. In the absence of outside verification, it’s not possible to confirm the status of the plant.
The Times reports Ukraine had used a precision drone strike to take out a missile launcher and anti-aircraft system 150 yards away from a reactor without causing any damage to the reactor; the Friday explosions are being attributed to Russian forces, which lack comparable targeting capabilities.
Russian actions at Chernobyl according to a report from the BBC indicate that the invaders did not understand what they were dealing with, and did not seem to care about the risks of a nuclear accident. Vandalism and looting were reported at Chernobyl as well as reports of Russian troops suffering possibly lethal radiation exposure. (Reuters)
This is consistent with other actions by the invading Russian forces which indicate they are poorly trained, poorly led, and prone to casual brutality and criminality. That is not reassuring given the risks in dealing with nuclear power stations.
The BBC reports that Ukraine has a number of nuclear reactors, including the ones currently under Russian occupation.
Ukraine now has eight reactors connected to the grid - two at the Zaporizhzhia power station, which is under Russian occupation, three at Rivne, two at the South Ukraine power station and one at Khmelnytskyy. Its seven other reactors are shut down for regular maintenance or held in reserve.
Whatever Vladimir Putin’s grand designs for Russia and Ukraine may be, he risks leaving a legacy at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex that could last for centuries.