Ukraine: A critical nuclear power plant in Ukraine once again experienced a loss of external power, international energy officials reported on Saturday, fueling a recent energy conflict between Moscow and the West.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the last main external power line at Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine's largest plant in Europe, was cut, while a reserve line was still able to continue supplying electricity to the grid.
According to a statement on the agency's website, only one of the station's six reactors was operating.
Since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in late February, the plant has been under Moscow's control. Both sides are accusing each other of shelling in the surrounding area.
Controversy over Russian oil and gas exports also heated up this week as G7 countries announced a planned price cap on Russian oil exports and Moscow vowed to keep its main gas pipeline to Germany closed.
The conflict over energy is the result of President Vladimir Putin's six-month invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the gulf between Moscow and the West as Europe prepares for the upcoming winter. In reference to the ongoing closure of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Saturday that "Russia is preparing for this winter a decisive energy blow on all Europeans." Zelensky previously blamed last week's shutdown of the nuclear plant, which shielded Russian shelling from a radiation leak. Moscow has been blamed for the lack of energy by the West and technical difficulties, but Europe has accused Russia of arming the supplies as part of the invasion.
nuclear crisis
In connection with the attacks on the Zaporizhzhia plant, which was taken over by the Russian military in March but is still run by Ukrainian employees and connected to the Ukrainian power grid, Kyiv and Moscow have traded allegations. An IAEA mission visited the plant on Thursday, and some experts remained there, in anticipation of the release of a report by the UN nuclear watchdog in the coming days.
Transmission lines were cut last week, cutting Zaporizhzhya off the national grid for the first time in its history. This caused power outages across Ukraine, although emergency generators kicked in to support critical cooling processes. According to the IAEA statement on Saturday, one reactor was "still operating and producing electricity for on-site cooling and other necessary safety functions as well as for homes, factories and other users through the grid."
The fifth reactor was shut down, the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant said in a statement, "as a result of continued shelling by Russian occupying forces," and "insufficient capacity from the last reserve line to operate the two reactors." The International Red Cross warned that the deteriorating situation amid the shelling raised the possibility of a radiation disaster, which would result in a significant humanitarian crisis. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of stockpiling heavy weapons to prevent Ukraine from firing at it. Russia, which disputes the existence of any such weapons there, has so far resisted calls from other countries to withdraw troops and demilitarize the region.
Reuters was unable to confirm claims made by the Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday that the Ukrainian military had unsuccessfully attempted to seize the plant.
On Saturday, Turkey also offered to make things easier.
oil and gas
Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom cited a technical issue in its announcement on Friday that it would not resume shipments through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline as anticipated. On Saturday, Gazprom said Siemens Energy was ready to assist in repairing damaged equipment, but there was no space available to do so. Although it is available, Siemens claimed that it has not been hired to perform pipeline maintenance. At 01:00 GMT on Saturday, Nord Stream 1, which travels under the Baltic Sea to supply Germany and other countries, was to resume after a three-day maintenance break.
With the cost of living already rising, mainly due to energy prices, the indefinite delay in starting gas delivery will make it more difficult for Europe to secure fuel for the winter. According to finance ministers of the Group of Seven Wealthy Democracies (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States), a cap on the price of Russian oil is intended to "undermine Russia's potential". Fund your war of aggression while limiting the impact of Russia's war on global energy prices," he said on Friday. The Kremlin announced that it would stop providing oil to any nation that adopted the cap. On Saturday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced that its forces had successfully thwarted Moscow's advance in several places, notably in eastern Ukraine where Russian forces were attempting to enter the Donetsk region.
Zelensky said on Saturday that fighting continues in the Kharkiv region and in the south.
On 24 February, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine which it describes as "a special military operation". According to Kyiv and the West, it was an unprovoked, aggressive war against a former Soviet Union province.
More than six months later, Russia has persisted, despite pledges of new military aid to Kyiv from the US and other countries.
After weeks of relative stagnation in the conflict, which resulted in the deaths of thousands and displaced millions, Ukraine launched a retaliatory strike earlier this week. It targeted the southern region, specifically the early-conflict Russian-occupied Kherson region.
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