After a year of occupation, the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporijjia no longer produces electricity and only serves as a military base for Russian troops, according to the exiled mayor of the city of Energodar, which houses this gigantic complex.
The Russian army occupied this nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on March 4, 2022, nine days after the start of its invasion.
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"
During this year of occupation, they have transformed the largest nuclear power plant in Europe into a military base
," Mayor Dmytro Orlov, 37, told AFP, according to whom the Russians know "
that the Ukrainian army will not fire pas
” on the site to avoid an incident.
The Russians use the plant as a "
nuclear shield to place military equipment, ammunition and personnel
", he underlines.
According to his information, at least 1,000 Russian soldiers are currently on the site of the power plant and at Energodar, whose population, according to him, has fallen from 53,000 to “about 15,000
”
in one year.
Lack of staff
"
Most of the occupation troops are based at the power station, because they feel safe there,
" said the mayor, who has lived since April 2022 in Zaporijjia, the regional capital located 120 kilometers from Energodar, but who says maintain regular contact with the inhabitants who have stayed behind.
The number of employees at the plant has also fallen from 11,000 before the invasion to 6,500 currently, Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom told AFP.
Thousands of professionals left for the territories controlled by Kiev and, among those who remained, around 2,600 agreed to “
collaborate with the
Russian aggressor”, according to Energoatom.
“
There is a real personnel problem which has an impact on security
”, abounds Dmytro Orlov, according to whom the employees are under “
pressure
” from the Russians and forced, in particular, to work in reduced numbers and without holidays.
Read alsoUkraine: the Zaporijjia power plant again at the heart of the conflict
The plant, which previously produced 20% of Ukraine's electricity, continued to operate for the first months of the invasion, despite periods of bombardment, before being shut down in September.
Since then, none of its six Soviet-era VVER-1000 reactors have been generating power, but the facility remains connected to Ukraine's energy system and consumes electricity produced by it for its own needs.
“
The occupants tried for several months to connect it to the Russian electricity system but they did not succeed
”, affirms the mayor.
According to the press service of Energoatom, "
the Russians are unable to restart even a reactor, because the high voltage lines are damaged
".
No military solution
If Moscow has, according to Energoatom, sent nuclear specialists to the plant, “
their skills are not enough to organize a real job
”.
And the shutdown of the plant also leads to “
a gradual deterioration of all its systems and equipment
”, warns the Ukrainian nuclear operator.
The group is also worried about a “
risk of nuclear incident
” in the event of a break in the last power line connecting the plant to the Ukrainian energy system.
In a note published on Wednesday, the American analysis center Institute for the Study of War estimated that Moscow could "
attempt to deter a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive
" in the south of the country "
by intensifying threats against the Zaporizhia power plant
" .
.
Read also“Some people strangely claim that Putin’s nuclear threats are just a bluff”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) deployed observers to the plant in September and is trying to negotiate its demilitarization, but the process does not seem to be progressing.
IAEA Director Rafael Grossi announced on Twitter on Thursday that a new rotation of experts had been completed, accompanying his message with a video showing observers wearing helmets and body armor walking around a bridge. destroyed to reach the power plant.
"
The fact that they are there is already a plus
," says Dmytro Orlov, who says he places a lot of hope in the IAEA's negotiations with Moscow: "
For obvious reasons, no one will demilitarize and put an end to the occupation of Europe's largest nuclear power plant by military means
".