No more Ukrainian personnel left at ZNPP - Kotin
Russian personnel are now at ZNPP, but they cannot reliably operate the plant
There are no personnel of NNEGC Energoatom left at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant occupied by Russian aggressors, acting chairman of the company's board Petro Kotin said, as quoted by Interfax-Ukraine.
"Our experienced staff is no longer there. In February, the occupiers withdrew the last of our people who remained loyal to Ukraine and guaranteed safety at the plant," he said during an event dedicated to the second anniversary of the occupation of ZNPP on 4 March 2022.
He added that at the beginning of the year, 360 employees of the company were at the plant, while now they are denied access to the plant.
According to Energoatom, 40 power unit shift supervisors left the temporarily occupied territory, Ukraine terminated labour relations with 8 of them, and 9 people have had their passes blocked by the Russians and are not allowed to work because they refused to sign contracts with them.
The same number of jobs remain vacant.
"That is, they currently have only eight shift supervisors left – people who are directly responsible for nuclear and radiation safety," Kotin said.
He stressed that now ZNPP has Russian personnel, but they cannot reliably operate the plant.
"The nuclear units at ZNPP have been modernised, the designs are significantly different from the Russian ones, and the Russian personnel, who have not been licensed in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, cannot operate them reliably. In addition, they have recruited personnel from nearby cities and towns who do not understand what a nuclear power plant is – they have only seen it from afar," explained the Energoatom CEO.
According to NNEGC, as of the beginning of 2022, almost 9,000 employees worked at the plant.
As reported, during the visit of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to Ukraine on 6 February, he raised the issue of the shortage of licensed personnel, promising to discuss it during his visit to ZNPP on 7 February.
Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said at the time that it was about 400 highly qualified and licensed employees who were not allowed to work by the occupiers.
"We really discussed this issue today. These are 400 employees who cannot simply be removed from their jobs. It is obvious that those who will be replaced by the Russians will not have a licence, and this will certainly affect the work and, accordingly, nuclear and radiation safety, and the functioning of this facility in general," the minister said.
Background. As reported, over 150 violations of nuclear safety conditions were recorded at ZNPP during the two years of occupation.
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