3 Ukrainians killed in Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia; nuclear plant warns of blackout

Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Intensive Russian bombardment of built-up areas of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region killed three people and injured nine, including a baby, military authorities said Thursday.

At least 82 artillery, missile and attack-drone strikes rained down 21 cities and towns killing a 43 year-old-man and two women aged 19 and 21 in Zaporizhzhia, the regional capital, with an 11-month-old child among the injured, according to Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration head Yuriy Malashko.

Four members of the same family were injured in Gulyaipol, 63 miles southeast of Zaporizhzhia, and there were more than 50 reports of damage to residential buildings, schools, and other public infrastructure, Malashko wrote on social media.

The attacks came amid warnings of blackouts from state-run Energoatom which said that its Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russia, was on the verge of a "hot shutdown," presenting a "major threat to nuclear and radiation safety."

Energoatom issued the warning after ZNPP temporarily lost connection to its main 750 kV high-voltage line overnight Wednesday and was forced to fall back on its lone 330 kV backup power line which, if also lost, would shut off electricity generation and blackout the region.

"Under such a scenario, the major threat to nuclear and radiation safety is from power unit no. 4 entering a 'hot shutdown state,' which would be a violation of the terms of the operating license issued by the Ukrainian nuclear regulator," Energoatom said.

In the event of a complete loss of external power, the power plant's reactor coolant pumps would shut off leaving the superheated water recirculating with dangerous consequences if it was not cooled quickly, Acting Executive Director for Operation and Repairs Taras Tkach said.

The company called for the plant to be restored immediately to its control to allow it to return it to normal operation and reinstate the facility's nuclear and radiation safety.

"This requires urgent action by the entire international community."

Meanwhile, Russia said it shot down more than a dozen Ukrainian-launched drones near Moscow and the naval port of Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said two military strike drones targeting the capital had been brought down by Air Defense Forces at about 4 a.m., one near the Central Ring Road federal highway and the second in the Kaluga Region, to the southwest, the state-run TASS news agency reported.

A temporary flight ban imposed by Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo international airports was lifted at around 5 a.m., according to the state-run newswire Ria Novosti.

A Russian Defense Ministry statement said air defense units destroyed two UAVs targeting Sevastopol and another nine were jammed by electronic warfare equipment and ditched into the Black Sea short of their targets.

No one was hurt and no damage was caused, the ministry added.