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One of the two power units of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which were disconnected from the power grid today after shelling by the Ukrainian army, has been restarted, said the head of the military-civil administration of the Russian-controlled part of the Zaporizhzhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, quoted by BTA.

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"Today, as a result of an attack by Ukrainian armed forces on power lines in the area of ​​the Zaporizhzhia NPP, a fire broke out in the protected zone of the HV 750 kV.

The fire caused a short circuit in the power lines.

The emergency relay protection of the NPP was activated and two power units were shut down, after which the Zaporozhye region was left without power supply.

Immediately after the fire was extinguished, one of the units started working again," Balitsky wrote in Telegram.

Many places in Zaporozhye region are without electricity after shelling in the area of ​​the local nuclear power plant

He added that work is underway to restore the power supply in the Zaporizhzhia region and to launch the second power unit of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which was disconnected from the grid.

According to him, the power supply to all cities and districts in the region has been restored.

Zaporizhia NPP workers who passed information to the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) will be sent to the Donetsk People's Republic, where they will be tried, Balitsky said.

He said the detainees gave statements and one of them was connected to the SSU.

"His activity was directed not only in a political direction, but also in a terrorist direction - towards actions to destabilize the work of a nuclear facility," said Balitsky.

The Ukrainian state company "Energoatom" said that the interruption of an overhead line to the Ukrainian energy system by the Russians led to changes in the operation of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, leading to its complete disconnection from the energy network, UNIAN reported.

"Today, August 25, 2022, due to fires in the slag dumps of the Zaporizhia TPP, located near the Zaporizhia NPP, the last (fourth) communication line of the ZNPP with the energy system of Ukraine-PL - 750 kV ZNPP-"Dniprovska" - was shut down twice. Before that, three other communication lines were damaged during Russian shelling. As a result, two working power units of the plant were disconnected from the network. Thus, the actions of the invaders led to the complete disconnection of ZANP from the power grid - the first in history of headquarters," the company said.

The nuclear power plant's own electricity needs are now provided by the Ukrainian energy system through the ZAEP-Zaporozhka TPP communication line.

Washington: Russia must agree to a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhia NPP

The message stated that there are currently no observations regarding the operation of the automation and safety systems.

The radiation background in the nearby town of Energodar is 10.4 micro-roentgens per hour, which corresponds to the natural background.

Power outages at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are a major concern, as they could shut down cooling systems essential to the reactors' safe operation, and emergency diesel generators are sometimes unreliable, the Associated Press noted.

Ukraine cannot shut down its nuclear power plants during the war because it relies heavily on them.

The fifteen reactors in the four NPPs provide about half of the country's electricity.

However, the ongoing fighting near an operating nuclear power plant worries many experts, who fear that any damage to the nuclear facility could lead to disaster.

The Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear facility in Europe, provided over 20 percent of Ukraine's electricity needs.

If it fails, it would create new problems for the Ukrainian government, which is already preparing for a harsh winter of war and possible significant energy shortages, according to Reuters.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February, seized the headquarters in March and has controlled it since then.

However, the NPP continues to be serviced by Ukrainian technicians from Energoatom.

Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other for shelling the site, fueling fears of a potential nuclear disaster.

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Zaporozhye NPP