Energoatom rejects joint operation of Zaporizhzhia NPP with Russia: "Technically impossible"
Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom said that jointly operating the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with the Russian side is technically impossible.
Energoatom’s acting head of the management board, Pavlo Kovtoniuk, said this, Censor.NET reports, citing hromadske.
According to Kovtoniuk, any possible discussions of the issue at the political level have no practical basis from the standpoint of nuclear industry specialists.
"Politicians are probably discussing such an issue. But from the viewpoint of technical specialists and Energoatom as the operator of all nuclear power plants in Ukraine, it is impossible," he stressed.
Kovtoniuk explained that all licenses for Zaporizhzhia NPP components, from reactors to control systems, are held exclusively by the Ukrainian side.
He also noted that Russia’s attempts to issue licenses to itself have no legal or technical force, including due to the lack of design documentation and licenses to use US-made nuclear fuel.
"The fact that Russia is trying to issue some kind of license to itself is absurd… it is a political decision," the Energoatom chief added.
Background
- It was reported earlier that the IAEA had begun consultations on establishing a temporary ceasefire zone near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP to carry out repair work.
- Later, the IAEA agreed with Russia and Ukraine on a localized ceasefire to repair the last remaining backup power line to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP.
