Balitsky reported to Putin on measures to ensure safety at ZNPP

The governor of Zaporizhzhya Region, Yevhen Balitskyy, has spoken about ensuring safety at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (ZNPP) during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was reported by the Kremlin press service on November 18.

"There is a nuclear power plant here [in Zaporizhzhya region]. Today Rosatom is taking all measures to ensure that the facility is protected. We are not getting electricity from it yet, because our infrastructure is chosen systematically, but the security of the facility today is at a high level," the governor said.

According to him, the deployment of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Regiment (RCBZ) guarantees control over the nuclear threat.

Balitsky noted that programs of payments after the destruction are being implemented, quality temporary accommodation points (TACs) at recreation centers are being provided.

The governor said that construction has begun on a regional children's hospital, a major medical facility that was not previously available in the region. He also added that the focus of the region's development is the construction of sinter plants for processing iron ore at Zaporizhzhya Iron Ore Plant, which will significantly improve the economic situation in the region.

On November 16, it was reported that the high voltage power supply line 750kV "Dniprovska" was switched off at ZNPP (NPP) by the action of automatics. The press service of the plant reminded that currently all ZNPP units are shut down and are in the state of "cold shutdown". Radiation background on the territory of the plant is normal, the message added.

Earlier, on November 6, ZNPP Communications Director Yevgeniya Yashina said that the equipment of the support system pipeline of ZNPP reactor No. 1, where a micro-crack was detected earlier, was put into operation.

Before that, on October 31, experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) detected a water leak at one of ZNPP reactors. Having received information about water leakage in the reactor coolant pump support system, IAEA experts visited power unit No. 1. On the same day welding works were completed and radiographic inspections of welds continued.

The next day, ZNPP Director Yuriy Chernichuk said that the micro-crack that had formed in the pipeline of the support system of one of the ZNPP reactors had been eliminated, and no threat to nuclear safety had arisen. He added that after the equipment density is confirmed, it will be put back into operation.

Zaporizhzhya Region, where the nuclear power plant is located, became part of the Russian Federation following a referendum in September 2022, since then Zaporizhzhya NPP has been under constant IAEA control.