The proof by the image. After having conquered in 2022 the Zaporijia nuclear power plant, southeast of Ukraine, Moscow wishes to exploit it for its energy system. Electric lines are built in the area under Russian control, according to satellite images analyzed in a report by the Greenpeace environmental protection NGO. THE New York Timeswho had access to the document, checked these images in An article published this Tuesday, May 27.
They show that around 80 kilometers of power and pylons have been erected since early February between the occupied coastal cities of Marioupol and Berdiansk, near the Russian border. According to Greenpeace, which relies on the site and the management of the works, the new lines aim to link an electrical substation next to Marioupol at the Zaporijia nuclear power plant, more than 220 kilometers to the northwest.
Fear of a nuclear disaster
The sixth and last reactor of the largest nuclear complex in Europe, which dates from the Soviet era, was stopped in September 2022. The site provided nearly quarters of Ukrainian electricity before the war began in February 2022. The Kremlin troops had taken control in March of the same year.
The power station is located on the southern shore of the DNIEPR, a few kilometers from the front line, which is delimited by the river. The proximity of the fighting made a nuclear accident fears from the start of the conflict. Drone attack near the complex, fire in the cooling system … having expressed concern many times, the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA) maintains two on -site experts.
Relaunching the installation has several difficulties. The Kakhovka dam on the Dniepr river, which operated a large part of the cooling of the six reactors, was destroyed in 2023. Another major problem is that of lack of staff. Many Ukrainian qualified employees have fled. The Russian public company in the Rosatom nuclear energy sector, which manages the Zaporijia power station, would find it difficult to find the competent workers, especially since the site is relatively modern, equipped in particular with American technologies. After more than two and a half years of break, renovations appear essential.
Donald Trump interested in operating the power station
“It would be the first time that a country at war has taken up a nuclear installation from another country and then used it for its own energy needs,” notes the New York Times. The precise intentions of Russia remain, however, vague. Shaun Burnie, a nuclear specialist in Greenpeace, thinks that one of the possible objectives is to connect the power station with the electricity network of the Russian region of Rostov, border with Donbass, a territory controlled by Moscow.
Last April, Washington proposed a peace agreement in which the Zaporijia power station would be returned to Ukraine but would go under American management. The site would provide electricity to the two nations. Russia has directly rejected this plan.
On the four lines that connected the power station to the Ukrainian electricity network, two cross the territory held by kyiv. The other two, in regions occupied by Moscow, were damaged and only one could be repaired, assures Olga Kosharna, an independent Ukrainian nuclear expert. Far from being sufficient to fully exploit the capacity of the power station, analyzes Shaun Burnie. “They must build more power lines.” But also railway with Russia. “We do not have rail links to the outside. And we only transport nuclear fuel by rail. This problem will have to be solved,” explains Yuriy Chernichuk, managing director of the Zaporijia power station, interviewed at the end of March By Strana Rosatom.
According to this information site of the Russian state company, Alexei Likhachev, boss of Rosatom, A indicated on May 21 that a full -capacity power plant plan was transmitted for approval to the Ministry of Energy.