Russia continues to pose its threat. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khousnullin has said he wants to cut Ukraine off from its nuclear power plant in Zaporozhye, occupied by the Russian army, unless kyiv pays Moscow for the electricity produced.
This statement joins that of other Russian officials in recent weeks who suggest that Russia is preparing a long-lasting occupation or even annexation of the areas of southern Ukraine it controls, the Kherson region and a significant part of that of Zaporozhye. .
“If Ukraine’s energy system is ready to take and pay, then (the power plant) can operate for Ukraine. If (Ukraine) does not accept, then (the power station) will turn for Russia”, declared Mr. Khousnoulline, during a displacement Wednesday on the site of the nuclear installation, quoted by the Russian agencies. “We have a lot of experience with nuclear power plants, we have companies in Russia that have this experience, there is no doubt that (the one in Zaporozhye) will continue to work,” he said.
The Russians would not have the capacity to cut off the electricity to the regions of Ukraine
The Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom assured Thursday morning that the plant was still supplying Ukraine with electricity.
The Russians “do not have the technical capacity to supply energy from the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant,” spokesman Leonid Oliynyk told AFP. “It takes time and money. It’s like building a bridge in Crimea. And in a month or two we will take everything back under Ukrainian control,” he continued. According to the spokesperson, “nobody is going to buy anything from them either”.
He also assured that the Russians did not have the ability to cut off electricity to regions of Ukraine not under Russian control. “All the necessary equipment is under Ukrainian control,” he said.
In 2021, i.e. before the Russian offensive against Ukraine launched on February 24, 2022, the plant represented 20% of Ukraine’s annual electricity production and 47% of that produced by the Ukrainian nuclear fleet.