(Reuters) – The Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine is a focus of attention in the war after Kyiv accused Russia of shelling the plant again and damaging radiation sensors. The plant, in Russian-controlled territory, was also shelled on Friday. Moscow blames Ukrainian forces for the strikes.
Below are five facts about Europe’s largest nuclear facility.
* Zaporizhzhia is the largest of Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants, which together provide about half the country’s electricity.
* Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine was the first time war has broken out in a country with such a large and established nuclear power programme, the International Atomic Energy Agency says.
* Zaporizhzhia’s six units each have a net capacity of 950 Megawatts electric, or a total of 5.7 Gigawatts electric, according to an IAEA database. The first unit was connected to the grid in 1984, and the last in 1995.
* The plant is of strategic importance to Russia because it is only about 200 km (125 miles) from Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. The plant was captured by Russian forces in the opening stage of the war but it is still run by its Ukrainian technicians.
* Shells hit a high-voltage power line at the facility on Friday, prompting its operators to disconnect a reactor despite no radioactive leak being detected.
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(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Daniel Wallis)
