Day 195: Nuclear Plant Again Disconnected from Ukrainian Power Grid as IAEA Report Expected

Facts

• The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power plant (ZNPP) was once again disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid on Mon. because of a fire caused by shelling, officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed. The agency said a back-up line "was deliberately disconnected in order to extinguish a fire," adding: "The line itself is not damaged, and it will be reconnected once the fire is extinguished."
• It comes as the IAEA is to publish its report on Tues. on the safety and security of the ZNPP following their investigation of the plant. The IAEA's Director Gen. Rafael Grossi will also brief the UN's Security Council on the situation at the facility.
• Meanwhile, Russia's Gazprom and Germany's Siemens continue to trade accusations over disruptions to the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Though Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Mon. said gas flows would not resume until Russian sanctions are lifted, Gazprom said on Tues. that the issue was due to Siemens' failure to carry out maintainence. Siemens responded that the repairs could be undertaken without gas flows being terminated.
• On the ground, as Ukraine claimed modest territorial gains in its southern counteroffensive, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said that the counteroffensive is expanding to the east and south-east. Seemingly confirming reports of Ukrainian gains, Rusian-appointed officials in Kherson said on Mon. that a referendum to join Russia – planned for Sept. – has been "paused" due to the security situation.
• In the meantime, Russian shelling continued to be reported in the regions of Donetsk, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv, where one civilian was reported killed. Pro-Russia separatists in Donetsk reported that two civilians were injured in Ukrainian shelling. They also claimed to have taken control of the villages of Novopol and Vremevka, near the border of Zaporizhzhia.
• In Russia, Ivan Safronov, a former journalist turned adviser to Russia's space agency, was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment in a penal colony on Monday. Safronov was found guilty of treason for allegedly sharing state secrets about Russian arms sales to the foreign intelligence arm of the Czech Republic. In a separate proceeding, Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta was stripped of its print licence. The news came under a year after its editor-in-chief won the 2021 nobel peace prize.

Sources: Associated Press, IAEA, Guardian, Ukrinform, and Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New Scientist. Experts have made it clear – the situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant presents the risk of another Chernobyl. Nuclear disaster has, miraculously, been avoided so far, but continuing risks 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 over stating 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.

Predictions