Extract from ABC News
Living in the shadow of Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, residents of Nikopol have never taken safety for granted.
"We've been told from childhood that the plant could be a danger," says Oksana, a mother of two who calls Nikopol home.
The plant's six distinctive reactors, which are visible on the horizon, once provided Ukraine with a fifth of its energy needs.
Now, they're under Russian control, in various stages of shutdown and, according to Ukraine, at risk of becoming weapons in Vladimir Putin's war.
The Ukrainian government has been repeatedly warning that Russia has rigged the facility with mines.
It claims Moscow will trigger the explosions and blame Ukrainian shelling — a plot that the Kremlin denies.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has found no evidence of Russian explosives during its site visits so far, but says it hasn't been able to inspect all the reactors yet.
Oksana says the uncertainty is weighing on her family, but for now, they won't be leaving.
"We are very worried about our children and parents, but this is our hometown," she told the ABC.
"We want to be here. Our roots are here, our soul is here."
As troubling as the nuclear threat may be, Oksana's family, like much of Nikopol, is grappling with an even more pressing issue.
They've run out of drinking water.
The war drained the life from Nikopol
The Kakhovka reservoir, which once separated Nikopol in the north, from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the south, is now bone dry in many places.
Sailing boats sit marooned on the shore and there are few signs of marine or birdlife.
It's been hauntingly quiet since the June 6 attack on the dam downstream, in territory occupied by Russia.
Kyiv and NATO have both blamed Moscow for the the dam's destruction, accusing Russia of blowing up the facility to slow Ukraine's counteroffensive.
While Russia has accused Ukraine of sabotage, many international experts say the weight of evidence points to a Russian operation, with explosives strategically planted on the dam that it controlled.
The attack has left many residents without drinking water, forcing local authorities to truck supplies in.
At a local school, Mykola Poltavskii fills up a plastic drum from a communal tank, before packing it onto a trolley for the walk home.
He says Nikopol has become unliveable for many, including his own family.
"Now we don't see the children or grandchildren. We miss them," he says.
"We used to have a life here — but now it's just about survival."
About half the population has left Nikopol since Russia's full-scale invasion.
Yevhen Yevtushenko, the head of the Nikopol district administration, believes it's all part of Russia's plan.
"The Russians want people from these territories to suffer. This is indisputable, it is a 'scorched earth' tactic. There is nothing new here," he says.
Nikopol is easily within Russian artillery range and regularly comes under attack from the direction of the nuclear power plant.
Mr Yevtushenko believes Russia is trying to stop the city getting back on its feet.
"The enemy is shelling Nikopol every day … [including] infrastructure and civilian objects," he says.
"We think they're trying to prevent the work on the restoration of a centralised water supply."
Nuclear plant has enough water — for now
The reservoir was also a vital source of water for the nuclear power plant, which used it to cool the reactors.
Five of those reactors are now in a state known as cold shutdown, reducing the amount of cooling required.
However, a sixth is still in hot shutdown, requiring much more intensive cooling to prevent a meltdown.
The IAEA says despite the depletion of the Kakhovka reservoir, there's enough water on site to last for "some months", but it remains concerned about the long-term water supply.
The regulator is also concerned about another future loss of electricity to the site, which could force the plant to rely on diesel generators to power its cooling pumps.
IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi says the situation is still "precarious" and his team hasn't been able to complete its inspection.
"[We] are still waiting to gain the necessary access to the rooftops of reactor units 3 and 4 following recent reports that explosives may have been placed there," he said.
Nikopol resident Nadezhda, who can see the nuclear power plant from the end of her street, says she tries not to think about the potential dangers Nikopol and surrounding communities face.
"There is a lot of negative information, [but] we do not listen to it," she says.
"If only they would stop shooting and bombing, we could survive."
Filling up his water bottle, Mykola Poltavskii says he's "sceptical" about Ukraine's warnings that Russia might detonate explosives at the plant.
He says he has no interest in evacuating, having fled the Russian-occupied Luhansk region in 2014.
"I don't want to run anymore," he says.
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