A landmine explosion has damaged a low-voltage electrical cable near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the latest in a series of such detonations this week that have further added to grave concerns about nuclear safety and security at the plant, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.
Yesterday’s blast damaged a 6 kilovolt (kV) cable – which is used to provide power for some plant operations – close to a nitrogen-oxygen facility just outside the ZNPP perimeter fence. Due to a short-circuit of the cable, the explosion indirectly also damaged a voltage transformer at reactor unit 6. There was no fire, but smoke was visible.
The IAEA team present at the plant today checked the area and found evidence of a mine blast, with traces of the impact visible in the concrete fence and the cable tray.
Ukrainian operating staff said spare parts and other materials were available for the repair of both the cable and the transformer. The repair work will not affect availability of back-up power systems.
The incident itself did not result in any direct impact on the safety systems of the ZNPP. It was the sixth landmine explosion reported this week outside the perimeter fence of the plant, which is controlled by Russian forces but operated by its Ukrainian staff.
Director General Grossi reiterated his deep concern about this week’s many landmine explosions close to the ZNPP, in an area that has also been hit by frequent shelling in recent months. The Director General said he is continuing his consultations and other efforts aimed at agreeing and implementing a nuclear safety and security zone around the ZNPP as soon as possible.