Russian missile attacks caused a crippled nuclear plant in Ukraine to lose all external power for the second time in five days, increasing the risk of a radiation disaster because electricity is needed to operate critical safety systems, Ukraine's state nuclear operator said on Wednesday.
The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant suffered a “blackout” when a missile damaged an electrical substation, leading to the emergency shutdown of the plant's last remaining outside power source, operator Energoatom reported.
All six of the reactors were stopped earlier due to the war. But they still require electricity to prevent them from overheating to the point of a meltdown that could cause radiation to pour from Europe's largest nuclear plant. Energoatom said diesel generators were supplying the plant but Russian troops blocked a convoy carrying additional fuel for the back-up equipment.
“Russian shelling and damage to the energy infrastructure associated with the operation of nuclear power plants are the same manifestation of nuclear terrorism as the direct shelling of the (Zaporizhzhia plant). And lead to the same consequences and radiation accident threats,” the company said.
The warning came amid a flurry of developments in Russia's war in Ukraine. Russia's main domestic security agency said eight people were arrested in connection with an explosion on a bridge that links Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. The Ukrainian president's office said strikes Moscow ordered in retaliation for the bridge attack killed at least 14 people died and wounded 34 in the last day.
Russia's Federal Security Service, known by the Russian acronym FSB, said it arrested five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia in the attack on the Kerch Bridge. A truck loaded with explosives blew up while driving across the bridge Saturday, killing four people and causing sections of road to collapse.
The span opened four years after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, serving as a symbol of Moscow's regional dominance as well as a crucial route for getting military supplies to Ukraine and Russian travelers to a popular vacation destination.
The FSB alleged the detained suspects acted on orders of Ukraine's military intelligence to secretly move the explosives by a convoluted route into Russia and forge accompanying documents.
The Russian security services have pointed the finger at Ukraine's intelligence directorate and its head, Kyrylo Budanov. Ukraine's Defense Ministry on Wednesday dismissed accusations of Ukrainian involvement.
“The entire activity of the FSB and the Investigative Committee is nonsense,” Defense Ministry spokesman Andriy Yusov told reporters.
