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Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant: History, control and key developments since the start of the war
On Thursday, a group of 14 inspectors led by Grossi arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) in southern Ukraine, despite concerns about constant shelling in the area.
Since early March, when Russia captured the plant, international and local experts have voiced grave warnings, not only for the safety of the plant’s workers, but also for fear of a nuclear disaster that could affect thousands of people in the surrounding area.
Ukraine relies heavily on nuclear power — about half of its electricity comes from 15 nuclear reactors at four plants across the country, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Zaporizhzhia NPP, with six reactors, is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. It was mostly built in the Soviet era and became Ukrainian property after its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Until recently, only two reactors were connected to Ukraine’s national grid and providing power, though the units have been taken offline at various points — and for various reasons — since the invasion.
Where is it and who controls it?
Zaporizhzhia NPP is located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river in Ukraine. The area, and the nuclear complex, has been under Russian control since the beginning of the war, but the plant is still mostly operated by Ukrainian workers.
At the start of the invasion, Ukrainian forces stopped Russian forces from capturing a second nuclear facility — the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant — and forced them to retreat to Dnipro, according to Petro Kotin, president of Energoatom, which runs nuclear power plants in Ukraine. The frontline hasn’t moved much in months.
Each of Zaporizhzhia’s reactors would cost $7 billion to replace, making the plant a target for Russians to capture undamaged, with hopes of serving its own electricity market, according to analysis by defense and security intelligence firm Janes. Should Russia keep it, Ukraine would lose 20% of its domestic electricity generating capacity.
What does its position on the frontline mean?
Shelling in the surrounding towns as well as near the power plant is common, according to local reports.
Ukraine has accused Russian forces of storing weaponry and launching attacks from the plant, knowing that Ukraine can’t return fire without risking hitting the nuclear facility. Russia in turn claims Ukrainian forces are targeting the site.
The international community has been on high alert about nuclear safety, yet experts believe a Chernobyl-style disaster is unlikely. The plant is equipped with modern security systems, meaning even if there was neglect to its upkeep, or major military action caused serious damage, the result would be most comparable to the nuclear disaster in Fukushima — which was contained locally, according to Janes and Energoatom.
Yet risks remain, one of which is potential damage to nuclear waste stored openly on site — in ponds of water and in casks, according to Kotin from Energoatom.
Kotin has also warned that Russian attempts to switch the plant from the Ukrainian to the Russian power grid would require disconnecting all the reactors from power for a certain time, relying on emergency power generation never failing — a “very dangerous” prospect, he told CNN in an August 22 interview.
Which parts of the plant have been affected by the conflict?
The plant’s main exclusion security zone, where the reactors and nuclear fuel are located, is surrounded by Dnipro waters to the northwest and Enerhodar town to the east.
The below satellite image highlights the plant’s facilities, which are vital to the accompanying timeline of events since the war began. They show just how narrowly Zaporizhzhia NPP has avoided a nuclear disaster.
Credits
Reporting and writing: CNN Staff and Henrik Pettersson
Digital design and graphics: Natalie Croker and Byron Manley
Photo editor: Clint Alwahab
Editors: Anna Brand, Nick Thompson and Eve Bower
It’s 11 p.m. in Kyiv. Here are the latest developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
US President Joe Biden on Thursday said there’s some indication that Russian President Vladimir Putin is self-isolating and punishing some of his advisers, but added that the US doesn’t have much hard evidence to say that with certainty.
When CNN’s MJ Lee asked the President how badly the Russian president is being misinformed by his advisers, Biden responded:
“That’s an open question. There’s a lot of speculation, but he seems to be — I’m not saying this with a certainty — he seems to be self-isolating and there’s some indication that he has, um, fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers.”
“But I don’t want to put too much stock in that at this time, because we don’t have that much hard evidence,” he added.
US government officials have expressed confidence this week in the intelligence assessment indicating Putin was being led astray by military advisers on the success of the Russian military’s performance during the war, which has gone on for more than a month.
Biden also noted that he is “skeptical” that Putin will withdraw all of his forces from around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
“Thus far there is no clear evidence that he’s pulling all of his forces out of Kyiv,” Biden said. “There’s also evidence that he is beefing up his troops down in the Donbas area. Depending on your view of Putin, I’m a little skeptical.”
He added, “I don’t know the answer, but it appears so far that he has not pulled all of — the idea he’s pulling of his troops out from around Kyiv and moving south, there’s no evidence that he’s done that,” Biden told reporters following remarks on the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Biden, however, added that there is evidence Putin is “beefing up” his forces in the Donbas area of Ukraine.
What Moscow is saying: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Thursday before Biden spoke that Moscow finds it worrisome that the US allegedly lacks understanding of Moscow’s decision-making process, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Dismissing comments from the US on Wednesday that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers, the Kremlin said it regrets that its style of work remains unclear to Washington, and such “misunderstanding” results in “careless decisions that have very bad consequences,” Peskov said, according to TASS.
CNN’s Zahra Ullah contributed reporting to this post.
La. state senator, Ronald Greene’s mother monitoring case developments
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana State Senator Cleo Fields says he will, “wait and see” what other developments come out of a federal probe into the 2019 death of Ronald Greene.
“There’s a lot that is yet to be known,” said Fields, who also serves on a state senate committee formed for Louisiana State Police (LSP) oversight. “Quite frankly, I’m going to wait and see what else comes out, if anything.”
Fields spoke to WAFB one day after reporters revealed a text message sent to Governor John Bel Edwards (D-LA), just hours after Greene died in police custody.
The text comes from a contact saved with the first name Kevin and the last initial R. At the time, Kevin Reeves served as superintendent for Louisiana State Police.
“A violent, lengthy struggle took place,” states the message. It also shows someone responding, “Thank you” from Edwards’ phone.
For nearly two years, investigators said Greene’s death happened because his car crashed in a high-speed chase. But, the text appears to show they knew that account was possibly untrue.
The governor is now in the spotlight because he did not publicly refute those claims from investigators.
RELATED: Text messages show Gov. Edwards knew of Ronald Greene’s in-custody death, but stayed silent
A spokesperson in Edwards’ office told the Associated Press, “the governor does not direct disciplinary or criminal investigations,” and said it would not be appropriate for him to do so.
Fields said it is the responsibility of state leaders to do what they can to get the case resolved.
“Obviously the governor has a responsibility, and we as lawmakers have a responsibility, but more importantly we all hold a deep responsibility to this family,” said Fields. “This mother was told that her child was killed by a single-car accident and we all now know that was not the case. This family needs closure. This mother has suffered long enough.”
Greene’s mother spoke to WAFB Friday, Jan. 28. She said the latest developments fueled feelings that the case was being brushed aside to prevent negative press.
“There’s no way you can pretty up these words. It was horrific. It was known by all. By all,” said Mona Hardin, Greene’s mother. “I tend to go back to when I first met the governor and all Louisiana officials. I just remember how they received me. This was at the viewing of Ronnie’s video, and how they were so sorry, they were going to do their best to uncover and because things are in the beginning stages of the investigations, all those words popped up. But, I knew it was a lie. I knew it back then. It wasn’t heartfelt, I felt that.”
At the time, in 2019, Edwards was in the middle of a close re-election race.
Eugene Collins, an advocate working with Greene’s Family, said he hopes to hear Edwards confirm that his political agenda didn’t motivate his initial silence surrounding the case.
“The way this state has treated that family, it’s just downright disrespectful,” said Collins. “Just looks like the governor chose politics over transparency in this case. That is what it seems like. If that’s not the case, I really want to hear from our governor what it was.”
Edwards later acknowledged missteps taken by LSP during the deadly encounter.
The Associated Press reported that FBI agents questioned people about how much Edwards knew about the case, citing unnamed law enforcement sources.
“Investigators have focused in part on an influential lawmaker saying the governor downplayed the need for a legislative inquiry,” according to the report. The report goes on to say agents wanted to know more about a conversation between Edwards and Louisiana House speaker Clay Schexnayder (R-LA).
RELATED: THE INVESTIGATORS: LSP calls release of body camera video in Ronald Greene case ‘premature’
“Schexnayder said this week that the governor told him there was no need for further action from the legislature because ‘Greene died in a wreck.’ The speaker said he never moved forward with the investigation to avoid interfering with the federal probe,” the report states. “The governor’s spokesperson acknowledged he briefed the legislative leadership on his “understanding of the Greene investigation” and said his remarks were consistent with his public statements.”
Schexnayder did not return attempts to verify that reporting. A spokesperson for the U.S. Justice Department also could not be reached for comment.
A spokeswoman for Edwards’ office told WAFB the text message was a “standard communication. She also said Edwards is not under investigation by the FBI.
The U.S. attorney who oversaw part of a civil rights probe into the case said Edwards never tried to influence the investigation.
Greene’s death occurred in May of 2019. Officials said he refused to pull over for a traffic stop and led troopers on a chase across northern Louisiana.
The chase ended when Greene’s vehicle crashed into a tree, documents state.
Video of the encounter with law enforcement after Greene was restrained, was withheld for more than two years.
It shows members of law enforcement beating, kicking, and dragging a handcuffed Greene while he was face down on the ground.
At one point Greene is hit with a stun gun and threatened that he would get more if he did not cooperate.
“I’m scared. I’m scared,” yelled Greene.
The beating was so brutal that some of the troopers can be heard on the video complaining about it as they cleaned blood from their hands.
The new head of LSP, colonial Lamar Davis, says he’s committed to resolving the case and disciplining any troopers who operated outside of LSP’s policies.
Several probes are underway into the troopers involved in Greene’s arrest. It’s unclear when findings from the case will be presented to a federal grand jury.
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