Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant’s Grid Connection Cut In Another Reminder Of ‘Precarious’ Safety Situation

At least two civilians were killed in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Kherson regions in shelling by Russian troops that also caused damage to infrastructure and property, regional officials said on December 2.

“One person died in Horlivka [in Donetsk], and six private homes plus three high-rise buildings and an industrial facility were damaged,” the region’s military administration said in its report, adding that two more people were wounded.

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In the southern region of Kherson, one civilian was killed and another one was wounded by Russian shelling and missile strikes. “Kherson region was struck 82 times with mortars, artillery, Grad missiles, tanks, aircraft and drones,” regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram, adding that Russian troops targeted residential areas and an educational facility.

The heads of the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Mykolayiv regions also reported civilian settlements in their region were hit by Russian shelling but no civilians were wounded.

Earlier on December 2, Russian troops attacked the southern region of Odesa with 11 Iranian-made kamikaze drones, the Ukrainian Air Force Command reported. Ukrainian air defense shot down 10 drones over Odesa and a guided missile in Dnipropetrovsk region, the Command said on Telegram, adding that the drones had been launched from Cape Chauda in Russia-occupied Crimea.

Oleh Kiper, the governor of Odesa region, said no one was wounded but the drone attack caused damages.

“Unfortunately, an infrastructure objective was hit. A fire broke out, which was quickly extinguished by rescuers,” Kiper wrote on his Telegram channel, without elaborating.

Inclement weather compounded by Russian attacks on infrastructure facilities have left almost settlements in western Ukraine without electricity, the country’s Energy Ministry said in a statement on December 2.

A total of “497 settlements are without electricity. Most of them are in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskiy regions,” the ministry said, adding that 134 emergency intervention teams were working to repair the damage.

Separately, Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator said in a statement on December 2 that two power lines connecting its electricity grid to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant — Europe’s largest — were cut overnight, putting the plant at risk of an “accident.”

“Due to the complete blackout, the nuclear power plant switched to powering its own needs from 20 diesel generators,” the operator said in a statement. The claim could not be independently confirmed.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces fought 84 close-quarters battles over the past 24 hours, the General Staff of Ukraine’s military said on December 2.

It said the fiercest clashes took place around the industrial hub of Avdiyivka in Donetsk, which Russian troops have been attempting to encircle for weeks.

General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, the Ukrainian commander near Avdiyivka, which is under his group’s responsibility, said Russian forces have reduced the use of aviation in the area.

“The enemy has reduced the activity of aviation [and] artillery and the total number of combats. Russian forces continue to try to advance with infantry,” he said, estimating losses at nearly 500 soldiers.

The battlefield claims could not be independently confirmed.

With reporting by AFP