On Thursday, following a powerful wave of Russian missile strikes against Ukraine, the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was cut off. 40% of consumers in Kiev were left without heating. At least six civilians were killed.
Ukrainian company Energoatom said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was temporarily cut off from the Ukrainian grid. The nuclear plant was reconnected to the Ukrainian power grid later Thursday, Ukrainian grid company Ukrenergo said.
The nuclear plant, which Russia has held since taking control at the start of the war, is close to the front lines, and both sides have warned in the past of the possibility of disaster.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, called for the creation of a protection zone around the plant.
“Each time, we rely on luck. And if we let this go on and on, then one day we won’t have a chance,” Grossi told the IAEA Board of Governors.
Kiev, Odessa and Kharkiv were affected, officials said.
Odessa region governor Maxim Marchenko said that following a massive missile strike, an energy facility was hit, which led to a power outage. Kharkiv region governor Oleg Sinegubov said 15 strikes were carried out in the city and region.
Meanwhile, the Security Service of Ukraine rejected the accusations made by the special services of the self-proclaimed “Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic” of planning an assassination attempt against the head of the puppet “republic” Vadim Krasnoselsky. The SBU said that “any statement … regarding the SBU’s participation in the preparation of a terrorist attack should be considered only as a provocation orchestrated by the Kremlin”.
“Lies and provocations are weapons that (Russia) actively uses. But today the whole world sees the true face of the aggressor country and does not believe the statements of Russia and its satellites,” the SBU said.
