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1 1 (September 12, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/goveiuq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ A Research Service Russian Military Actions at Ukraine's Nuclear Power Plants Updated September 12, 2022 Russia's ongoing military occupation of Ukraine's six-reactor Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP)-the largest in Europe-has raised widespread alarm about potential damage to the plant that could cause large radioactive releases to the environment. Russian forces captured the plant on March 4, 2022, with reported heavy fighting and artillery shelling. Shelling around the plant resumed on August 5, 2022, prompting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to warn, Any military firepower directed at or from the facility would amount to playing with fire, with potentially catastrophic consequences. Continued shelling during August and September 2022 repeatedly disabled the plant's connections to the surrounding power grid. Whenever offsite power was lost, the two reactors that have been operating since the Russian takeover would usually shut down for safety reasons and then restart when power lines were repaired. According to Ukraine's nuclear safety agency, the plant was reconnected to the grid as of September 12, 2022, but all six of the plant's reactors were in cold shutdown because of ongoing shelling in the area. After months of negotiation, an IAEA expert team arrived at ZNPP on September 1, 2022, to assess the conditions at the plant. IAEA's report on the mission, issued September 5, 2022, described extensive damage to plant facilities and surrounding infrastructure. The report warned that continued military action represented a constant threat to nuclear safety and security because critical safety functions (containment of the radioactivity and cooling in particular) could be impacted. The report called for establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP. It also noted that the plant's operating staff is subject to constant high stress and pressure which could lead to increased human error with implications on nuclear safety. Russian forces have seized control of ZNPP and its management, but the plant's operational personnel have remained on duty. IAEA experts will remain at the plant to monitor safety conditions. Nuclear Power Plants Operating in Ukraine Ukraine has four operating nuclear power plant sites with a total of 15 reactors, which in recent years have provided about half of Ukraine's total electricity generation. All the operating Ukrainian reactors are Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11883 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Conaress

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