Ukraine's nuclear energy agency has announced that the final working reactor at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant has been placed into a "cold shutdown" for safety reasons due to catastrophic flooding caused by the collapse of a nearby dam.
Overnight, Russian troops continued to bombard the nation with missiles and drones, resulting in fatalities and the destruction of a military airport, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Russian-Occupied Nuclear Power Facility Is Cold-Shutdown
According to CBS News, the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant is already in a condition of cold shutdown, in which all control rods have been placed into the reactor core to halt nuclear fission and the production of heat and pressure.
Late on Friday, June 9, the Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom issued a statement saying that despite the breach of the Kakhovka dam further down the Dnieper River, there was no direct threat to the Zaporizhzhia plant. The dam destruction has caused thousands of people to flee flooding and sharply reduced water levels in a reservoir used to help cool the facility.
The final reactor was placed into cold shutdown on Thursday, June 8. Energoatom said that additional considerations in the decision included shelling near the facility, which has damaged overhead connections linking the plant to Ukraine's electricity infrastructure.
When nuclear reactions are halted, the reactor's internal temperature and pressure begin to fall, lowering the amount of water needed to cool the radioactive fuel. The nuclear power facility is operating in its safest mode. The power plant is still operated by Energoatom staff, even though it is still under Russian control.
Since late September 2022, the site's power units have been inoperable. There will soon be a visit to Ukraine from the chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
A counteroffensive has reportedly been initiated by Ukraine in the nation's southern regions, as per analysts and Russia, in an attempt to recover land around the facility.
Russian Missiles and Drones Murdered Civilians and Damaged a Military Airport
On Saturday morning, June 10, Ukrainian officials said that at least four people had died in different parts of the country after Russian troops used Shahed drones, rockets, artillery, and grenade strikes made in Iran.
Overnight, an assault on the Black Sea port of Odesa reportedly killed three people and injured more than two dozen, as stated by Ukraine's State Emergency Service. Two children and a pregnant lady were among the injured, according to a spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern operations command.
In a report by AP News, Governor Oleh Syniehubov of the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine said on Saturday that a man, age 29, was murdered when more than 10 drones attacked the area. He also said that three further persons had been injured.
Local governor Dmytro Lunin said a military airstrip in the Poltava area was also damaged by a Russian drone and missile strike. Nobody was reportedly wounded.
The Ukrainian air force claimed it shot down 20 of 35 Shahed drones and two of eight Russian missiles of various types throughout the night.
