« Energoatom »: Russia cannot put into service
| Petro Cottin, CEO of « Energoatom »said in an interview that there are « big problems » to solve, including insufficient cooling water, staff, and electricity supply before the plant starts to produce energy safely. |
Russia has announced that it intends to continue to control the site and even put it into operation, but without indicating when. Alexey Lihachov, managing the Russian nuclear operator Rosatom, said in February that the plant would work when « military and political conditions allow. »
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Meanwhile, Donald Trump has expressed an interest in gaining control of the plant, though this is unlikely.
Kotin and Energoatom said they were ready to restart the plant, but this would require the Russian forces to withdraw from the site, remove the mines and the area to demilitarize.
According to Kotin, such a restart will take between « two months to two years », and in the environment « without any military threats ». Restarting from Russia during the war « will be impossible, even by a reactor. »
| According to Kotin, the six reactors can be returned to operating mode after the completion of 27 safety programs agreed with the Ukrainian nuclear regulator, including testing of nuclear fuel in the reactor core, as the « warranty period » of 6 years has passed. |
This raises questions about whether Russia could restart the plant after a truce without taking significant risk. The plant is no longer safe, according to Kotin, and is used as a « military base with available military machines ». He also added that there are probably weapons and explosives in place.
Russia acknowledged that it has set mines between the domestic and external perimeter of the plant, « to prevent potential Ukrainian saboteurs, » while inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that the site had armed soldiers and military staff.
According to the United States, Ukrainian reactors, although original in Soviet Wuver design, « developed differently » from their Russian equivalents and « especially in connection with security ».
Kotin said any attempt by Russia for restarting the plant will certainly not be accepted or supported by Ukraine. This will require an additional 750kV high -voltage lines to be connected to the plant.
