Dam Rupture Poses No Threat to Ukraine's Nuclear Plant, IAEA Reports

The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine is still receiving water needed to cool its reactors despite the rupture of the Kakhovka dam, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on June 8 as Ukraine assessed the damage caused by flooding and as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed activists about the environmental impact.

"Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is continuing to pump cooling water from the Kakhovka reservoir," the IAEA said in a statement.

The statement came after the head of Ukraine's Ukrhydroenerho energy company, Ihor Syrota, said the water level at the reservoir had gone "below the critical point of 12.7 meters."

This means the reservoir could no longer supply "the ponds at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power station to cool the plant," he said on Ukrainian television.

But the IAEA said its experts had been informed that the plant had assessed that it should be able to pump water from the reservoir after its level falls below 12.7 meters.

"So far, the results indicate that the pumps can likely still be operated even if the level drops to around 11 meters or possibly lower," the IAEA said.

The dam on the Dnieper River forms a reservoir that provides the cooling water for the nuclear power station located about 150 kilometers upstream. The plant's reactors have been shut down, but they still need water to keep them cool and prevent a nuclear disaster.

Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of being behind the breach that both say was caused by an explosion. The dam has been under Russian control since the early days of the invasion.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said in the statement that alternatives to the reservoir, including a large pond next to the plant, can provide the required cooling water for the plant "for several months."

Grossi, who plans to travel to the plant next week, added however that the general safety and security situation around the plant remains "very precarious and potentially dangerous."

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said on June 8 that a total of 32 settlements and 3,625 houses were flooded in southern Ukraine on the right bank of the Dnieper River due to the destruction of the dam.

According to the ministry, 2,339 people, including 120 children, have been evacuated, while another 563 people were rescued, including 28 children.

As the water level began to decrease, Zelenskiy addressed more than 30 global environmental activists and international experts regarding the consequences of the destruction of the dam and hydroelectric power plant.

The disaster "is not a natural disaster or a manifestation of the climate crisis. This disaster is Putin," Zelenskiy told the meeting, referring to the Russian president.

"For hundreds and thousands of people in many cities and villages, access to drinking water has been significantly complicated due to the destruction of the dam, fuel storage facilities, chemical warehouses, fertilizer warehouses, and animal burial grounds have been flooded," Zelenskiy said.

Zelenskiy told the meeting that a special expert group will be created in Ukraine to deal with the issues of bringing Russia to justice for crimes of ecocide on Ukrainian territory.

Among the participants in the online meeting was Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who posted her reaction to the destruction of the dam on Twitter.

The Russians "must be held accountable for their crimes," she said.

By RFE/RL

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