Expert says Ukraine to survive heating season

Even if the Zaporizhia NPP is inoperable throughout winter, Ukraine has capacities to go through this heating season without it.

That's according to Vadym Denysenko, the advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs, executive chief of the Ukrainian Institute of the Future, reports Ukrinform.

"We have to understand: even if the station doesn't work in winter, we have the opportunity to go through this heating season without it," he informed.

The minister's adviser, among other things, clarified what is actually happening at the ZNPP [Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant]. In particular, Denysenko stated that Russia's plan at the onset of the invasion was to seize both Zaporizhya and South-Ukrainian nuclear power plants. According to him, which would allow the Russians to de facto de-energise most of Ukraine. This would lead to an energy collapse for at least half of the country.

Regarding the updated plan as of August 1, the expert noted, citing Ukraine's Energoatom, that the Russians got hold of software that could allow synchronising the ZNPP with the Russian power systems (through the substation in Dzhankoy).

"After such synchronisation, the Russian Federation planned to allow access for an IAEA mission, which was only supposed to state the obvious – that the plant was generating energy for Russia. As you all remember, due to Newton's law, a power line fell in Kherson Region, and then, due to non-compliance with safety rules, a power transformer caught fire. As a result, this plan was foiled," he said.

In turn, regarding Russia's plan as of August 31, 2022, Denysenko informed that the Russians talked too much about the IAEA mission to just not let it visit the ZNPP.

"Judging by the footage we saw yesterday [September 1], this visit was staged and had nothing to do with the inspection, which suggests bias on the part of the IAEA head," the expert opined.

At the same time, the advisor noted that the report, scheduled to be issued on September 6, 2022, is expected to contain three main points.

Among them is a statement of the fact that the plant is functional, a statement of the need for a permanent mission at the site, and a statement condemning shelling (according to the expert, the only question is whether the phrase about shelling from the Ukrainian side will be voiced), as well as calls for the demilitarisation of the ZNPP area.

According to the minister's adviser, from this moment on, the Russians will join the global information war.

"And the goal of this war remains the same: synchronising the station with Russian power systems under the guise of ensuring the reliability of the station's operation. Our answer here is very simple: it is the Russians who are shelling the plant, while our main goal now is to prevent synchronisation and regain control of the plant. There are no other options," said the expert.

As reported, ZAES, the site of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, has remained under the control of the Russian military since March 4. Since then, the invaders have deployed military equipment and ammunition on the site, shelling the surrounding area.

The United Nations, the United States, and Ukraine have called on the Russian Federation to withdraw military equipment and personnel from the nuclear facility.

The mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) led by its head, Raphael Grossi, visited the ZNPP on September 1.

For his part, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko stated that, in fact, IAEA experts recognise the violation of the key fundamental principles of nuclear safety due to the actions undertaken by the Russians.