Is Russia's Putin gambling with the safety of Ukraine's nuclear stations?

"Russia and Ukraine have traded blame, accusing one another of imperilling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Kyiv, Ukraine On October 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged that Ukrainian attacks had destroyed a high-voltage transmission line between the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine and Kyiv-controlled areas. Days earlier, Ukraine's leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russian shelling had cut the plant off from the electricity network. list of 4 itemsend of list"

"The mammoth, six-reactor plant Europe's largest and known in Ukraine as the ZAES sits less than 10km (6.2 miles) south of the front line. It has been shut since 2022, generating none of the electricity that once provided up to a fifth of Ukraine's needs. But dozens of Moscow-deployed engineers have frantically tried to restart it so far unsuccessfully. Ukraine has long feared that Russia is trying to connect the power grid and quench a thirst for energy in Crimea and other occupied areas."

"Putin purported that the alleged Ukrainian strikes caused a blackout at the plant and that it had to be fuelled by diesel generators. The latest blackout at the plant is the longest wartime outage of power. On the [Ukrainian] side, people should understand that if they play so dangerously, they have an operating nuclear power station on their side, Putin told a forum in St Petersburg."

A high-voltage transmission line serving the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and Kyiv-controlled areas was reportedly destroyed, with both sides trading blame for the outage. The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest and known as the ZAES, sits close to the front line and has been shut since 2022, producing none of its former output. Moscow-deployed engineers have attempted unsuccessful restarts, while Ukraine fears Russia aims to reroute power to occupied regions including Crimea. Diesel generators powered the plant during the blackout, and accusations include reported damage to power supply at the Chornobyl sarcophagus.

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