The nuclear power plant has been part of Nikopol’s daily life for decades. Now that’s their worst fear. The Russian army has transported weapons and ammunition to the area of the nuclear power plant.
NIKOPOL, UKRAINE In Nikopol, everyone lives in fear.
On the other side of the Kakhova Reservoir, you can clearly see the huge nuclear facility of Zaporizhzhia, which is occupied by Russia. It is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and supplies more than a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity.
The residents of Nikopol interviewed by are worried about a nuclear accident. A more immediate concern is that Russia attacks the region all the time.
In various parts of Nikopol you can see traces of the destruction of Russian rocket launchers. According to the locals, Russia is firing towards the city from the vicinity of the nuclear power plant on the opposite bank. This is why Ukraine is unable to return fire and destroy Russian rocket launchers.
Tori was destroyed overnight
The covered market in the center has been completely destroyed. Russia struck there four days ago.
– I lost everything. I had two outlets here. There’s nothing left, Andrei Kutsik wailing amid the ruins.
The market was engulfed in flames in an instant in the middle of the night. It was full of stuff like clothes and plastic wrap.
Vera can’t even think about his own safety.
– I worked for 28 years at this market. How do I start over? Am I applying for a loan, am I looking for a new market?
Nearby Jelena Zaturjak crying next to the cat. He lives right next to the market.
– The cat just came back. It lived in this bar, and apparently survived the fire. I can’t understand it, he says.
“Finns, help us!”
According to Jelena Zaturjak, Russia fires at Nikopol almost every day. Other receivers say the same. Last night, a Russian rocket hit at least the school yard.
– I was at home next to here when the Grad rockets hit here at night. Everything was destroyed in an instant. We came here at night to save animals and people. Finns, help us, Vera says shocked.
Along with rocket and artillery attacks, another source of fear is the nuclear power plant located about 15 kilometers away. Jelena Zaturjak, like many others interviewed, are afraid of what Russia is doing there.
Photographs and satellite images have shown that the Russians have driven trucks loaded with ammunition just tens of meters away from the reactors. Trucks are also parked inside critical buildings.
– I know through my acquaintances that the Russians store weapons and ammunition in the nuclear facility. The units in the first and second are currently run down. At least that’s where the Russians store weapons, Andrei Kutsik says.
– This can still end really badly if they explode. Such an accident affects the whole of Europe, he continues.
Exploding Russian munitions near the reactors is the biggest fear.
– I don’t know, but it’s really scary. Are we all going to die, Jelena Zaturjak asks.
The nuclear power plant is a part of life – and now fear
The nuclear power plant has been a part of life in the city of over one hundred thousand inhabitants since the 1980s. Andrei Kutsik, who repairs electricity in the center, has previously worked at the facility.
– Three of my friends are currently there in forced labor. Their situation is difficult. Half of the staff has been driven away from there.
According to Andrei Kutsik, the Zaporizhia nuclear plant works in two or three shifts under normal conditions. Now there is only about half of the staff and they have to work very long shifts.
– The employees are really exhausted. It is scary. I know how demanding a job it is.
He tells about yesterday’s situation, when the nuclear power plant was disconnected from the electricity grid.
– I received a call that all reactors were put on alert. Two of them are operational. It was the most dangerous situation in the history of the nuclear power plant, says Andrei Kutsik.
On Thursday, there was a fire in the area of the nuclear power plant, which cut the last of the four outgoing power lines twice. The other three lines have already been cut off due to Russian fire.
Electricity has been cut in large areas.
The Ukrainian state nuclear power company Energoatom said on Friday afternoon that one of the reactors at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been reconnected to the Ukrainian electricity grid and is once again supplying electricity.
Iodine tablets were already distributed in March
At least half of the inhabitants of Nikopol have fled the war. Some are in nearby cities, where Russian rocket and artillery attacks cannot reach.
Others have gone further to escape a possible nuclear accident.
On Friday, the radiation level will still be normal. The radiation safety center’s meter shows that the background radiation in Nikopol is lower than in Helsinki.
It does not comfort the city dwellers. They talk about how old the Russian ammunition is and how recklessly the Russian military has acted during the war.
Russia occupied the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in March at the beginning of the war.
The townspeople say that they were already given information about how to act in the event of a nuclear accident. All were given iodine tablets for free.
– But do you believe that one tablet will save us if that plant explodes, says Mikhailcurses the Russian president and rushes home from the center of Nikopol.
There is a TV report about the topic on tv1 at 20:30.