"Almost every day there is a new incident at or near the Zaporizhia NPP.

We cannot afford to waste any more time.

I am determined to personally lead the IAEA mission to the nuclear power plant in the next few days to help stabilize the nuclear safety situation," Rafael

The Director General of the IAEA also informed that he has already held the necessary consultations with the French President

.

The meeting with him took place after Ukraine informed the IAEA about the emergency shutdown of the last two operating power plants.

The Ukrainian company "Energoatom", which manages all nuclear power plants in Ukraine, announced on the morning of August 26 about the start of work on preparing the connection of two energy blocks to the energy network.

"The station's own needs for power supply are currently provided through a repaired line from the energy system of Ukraine," the company noted.

According to the company, there are no comments on the operation of the station's equipment and security systems.

Radiation is normal

According to the radiation monitoring map of Ukraine, on which information on the state of radiation pollution is updated live, the background in the Zaporizhia region, Zaporozhye and Energodar itself, where the Zaporizhia NPP is located, is at the normal level.

In particular, in Energodar - 90 nanosieverts per hour, in Zaporozhye - 120 nanosieverts per hour.

For example, in Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, this indicator is 5,670 nanosieverts per hour.

The equivalent dose of radiation exposure to the body is determined in sieverts.

A radiation level close to 0.5 microsieverts per hour (up to 50 microroentgens per hour) is considered safe.

What preceded

On August 25, as a result of shelling near the Zaporizhia NPP, the Dniprovskaya power line was damaged.

As a result, the emergency protection worked first on one, and later on the second power plant.

For the first time in history, all blasts at the Zaporizhia NPP have been stopped.

The station was put into operation in 1984.

Before the capture of the station by the Russian troops, three energy reactors - the third, fifth and sixth - were working on it.

Power unit No. 3 was shut down on August 5, when the emergency protection system was also activated after the shelling.

Earlier, specialists of the State Inspection of Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine stated that the shutdown of the Zaporizhzhya NPP could cause an accident similar to the one that occurred at Fukushima-1 as a result of the earthquake in 2011.

Satellite image of the Zaporizhia NPP occupied by the Russians, August 19, 2022

British intelligence has published satellite images of the station

Intelligence of the British Ministry of Defense stated that the main risks during Russia's occupation of the Zaporizhzhya NPP will remain violations of the cooling systems of the reactors, damage to its backup power source, or errors by employees who are forced to work under pressure.

British intelligence released a satellite image of the station taken on August 21, which shows that Russia has maintained an increased military presence at the facility, with armored personnel carriers 60 meters away from the fifth reactor.

"The Russian military probably tried to hide the vehicles by placing them under air ducts and bridges," British military intelligence said.

The Russians themselves confirmed what they had previously denied

"Rosgvardiya" reported on the detention of two employees of the Zaporizhzhya NPP on suspicion of providing the Armed Forces of Ukraine with information about the "location of personnel and equipment" on the station's territory.

Earlier, Russia denied that it was using the Zaporizhia NPP as a military base.

"We firmly do not accept such statements.

We have repeatedly stated that the actions of our Armed Forces in no way undermine the nuclear security of Ukraine and do not interfere with the routine operation of the nuclear power plant," said the message of the Russian Mission to the UN.

Ukraine is asking for help from its partners to return the ZANP under its control

The Ukrainian company "Energoatom", which manages nuclear power plants in Ukraine, has been saying since mid-August that Zaporozhye NPP, captured by Russian troops, is operating with risks of violating radiation and fire safety standards.

In August, Russia shelled the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant four times to blame it on the Ukrainian side.

As a result of the shelling on August 5, the emergency protection tripped on one of the blocks and the staff had to turn off one of the three working power blocks.

At the same time, the nitrogen-oxygen station and the combined auxiliary corps were seriously damaged.

According to "Energoatom", there are risks of hydrogen leakage, sputtering of radioactive substances and danger of fire.

After the shelling on August 6, three radiation monitoring sensors near the spent nuclear fuel storage facility went out of order.

On August 11, the fire station located on the territory of the NPP in case of emergencies at the station was hit by shelling.

On August 13, as a result of explosions, open distribution devices were damaged.

At the same time, Russia accuses the Ukrainian side of these shellings.