MOSCOW. Aug 11 (Interfax) - Procurements for the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Energodar arranged by the Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator Energoatom over the past two years have had nothing to do with the plant's real needs, Renat Karchaa, advisor to the head of Rosenergoatom, said on Friday.
"Their procurements had nothing in common with reality. In our country, this story would have qualified as corruption and major embezzlement," Karchaa told Interfax.
There have been no attempts to deliver any supplies to the Zaporozhye NPP under Ukrainian tenders, he said.
Moreover, until 2022, the plant was not properly maintained and developed, "while colossal money was disbursed at the same time," which is evident from the condition of its infrastructure, he said.
A number of media outlets reported earlier with reference to Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak that since March 4, 2022 (when Ukraine lost control of the Zaporozhye NPP), Energoatom has conducted several tenders for the plant for 500 million hryvni (about 1.5 billion rubles), including for servicing its reactor units.
The Zaporozhye NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, operates six VVER-1000 power units. The plant has not produced electricity since September 11, 2022. Two of its power units are undergoing maintenance, three are in a cold shutdown, and one in a hot shutdown to provide for the Zaporozhye NPP's own needs.
The NPP's facilities have been transferred to Russian ownership, and the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant Federal State Unitary Enterprise was established. The operator is the Operating Organization of the Zaporozhye NPP, which was established by Rosenergoatom, part of Rosatom state corporation.
Several IAEA experts have been deployed at the NPP on a rotating basis since September 1, 2022. The last rotation was conducted on August 3.