Day 193: IAEA Says Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Lost Power Link as Red Cross Fears Radiation Disaster
Facts
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced that Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — currently under Russian control — has lost its link to the last power line and is currently only supplying energy to Ukraine’s energy grid through a backup line.
- The IAEA reports that only one of six reactors is in operation, with both Russian and Ukrainian forces blaming each other for nearby shelling. The International Red Cross has warned that the artillery fire could cause a humanitarian catastrophe in the event of a radiation disaster.
- The IAEA plans to submit a report early next week on the status of the plant. The agency plans to maintain an ongoing presence at the Russian-controlled — but Ukrainian-operated facility — to thwart a possible nuclear accident.
- Elsewhere, Germany has announced a €200 million ($199 million) aid package to Ukraine with a focus on assisting internally displaced people from the war. 7M people have been internally displaced since the conflict began in Feb., according to UN officials.
- On the ground, Ukraine claimed that Russian forces sustained “significant losses” in Kherson on the heels of a Ukrainian counteroffensive that began earlier this week. Ukraine claimed it had destroyed a ferry crossing and ammunition depot in the region.
- In addition, official Russian state media has accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the settlement of Makeyevka in the Donetsk region using multiple rocket launchers. Russian media claimed a total of three missiles were fired.
Sources: BBC News, Al Jazeera, CNN, DW, and Tass.
Narratives
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The New Scientist. Experts have made it clear — the situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant presents the risk of another Chornobyl. The nuclear disaster has, miraculously, been avoided so far, but continuing risks to the safety and effectiveness of staff to control the reactors could have catastrophic consequences.
- Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Politico. Although Zaporizhzhia’s cooling systems will be relatively vulnerable due to their contact with the outside world, the worst-case scenario would only cause serious damage at a local level. Both Russia and Ukraine are overstating the risk of nuclear catastrophe to galvanize domestic support for the invasion and play upon Western fears to incentivize providing military and public support respectively.