"We Have Moderate Hope for Success": Starukh Listed Factors for Improvement of Situation at ZNPP
Situation in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Region, hasn’t yet improved, while the situation at ZNPP is described as critical.
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Enerhodar is constantly shelled by the Russian army, however thousands of ZNPP employees are staying in the city in order to maintain critical operation of the nuclear facility, Oleksandr Starukh, the Head of Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, reports.
"Unfortunately, the situation in the city hasn’t yet improved. One third of our population has evacuated, and those 11 thousands staying in the city are most the NPP’s employees. Some of them work directly at the facility, while some of them work remotely, but their activities are similarly important for maintenance of the nuclear facility’s critical operations. The plant cannot be shut down that easy, it’s not a kitchen blender which can be switched off with a simple press on a button. This facility must be managed and supervised by a professional team even during many decades after shutdown”, he posted.
The official reminded that ZNPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, and the employees must stay at the workplace.
"How does it feel for an operator, who is held hostage along with the family members, but has no other choice but to work at the nuclear power plant, where armed military units are deployed, and everyone perfectly realizes that the ammunitions are stored at the turbine island, each and every safety precaution is violated, et cetera? The situation is critical. The city and the NPP are a single organism. If the plant is shut down, the city will have no power supply. If the plant is shut down, the city will have no heart supply, because there are no gas boiler plants, and the city is essentially heated by the plant’s secondary heat. Without plant, there will be no life here", he explained.
According to Starukh, the first responders are also staying in the city and actively engage in fighting fires caused by the shells exploding at the plant. The invaders have repeatedly attacked the firefighters during response activities, while CCTV records show Russian BMP-80 armored personal carriers entering the plant’s territory.
“Still, we have a moderate hope for success. We define success as demilitarization of the plant site and control of the nuclear safety issues by the IAEA and Enerhoatom, since currently Ukraine has no effective capabilities to control the plant. For Ukraine, which has already witnessed Chernobyl disaster, this matter is of utmost importance", he summarized.
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