The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has once again lost its external power supply and switched to emergency diesel generators, which are maintaining the cooling of the nuclear fuel. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that the available reserves are sufficient to operate a limited number of generators for around two weeks. The cause and location of the latest outage have not yet been established.
The plant is not generating electricity, but it needs a stable power supply to maintain the cooling systems for its six reactors and spent nuclear fuel. The “Ferosplavnaya” line was the latest to be disconnected, with the Russian management of the NPP claiming that this occurred through automatic protection. According to its data, the radiation levels in the area of the plant and in the monitored zone are normal.
“The staff of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is monitoring all operating parameters of the equipment. All necessary measures to maintain the safe condition of the power units are being fully implemented,” the plant’s management said.Repairs were facilitated by a local truce
At the beginning of September, a local ceasefire was agreed with the mediation of the International Atomic Energy Agency to allow repair work to be carried out on the power lines supplying the plant. At that time, the Zaporizhzhia NPP had already been without external power since 20 August.
Russia took control of the plant in the first weeks after the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, Moscow and Kyiv have regularly accused each other of endangering nuclear safety through military activity around the site.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians left without electricity
The latest power outage at the NPP coincided with large-scale strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Energy company DTEK said that more than 600,000 residents of Dnipropetrovsk region had been left without electricity after critical energy facilities were damaged. The company said that restoration work was being hampered by repeated attacks.
In Kharkiv region, a Russian drone struck a critical infrastructure facility. Zlatopil Mayor Nikolay Baksheyev said that nearly 250,000 consumers had been left without electricity, while the exact timeframe for restoring the supply was unknown. In Zhytomyr region, 140 residential buildings were left without heating, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Zelensky also reported a new drone strike on Komyshuvakha, where rescue operations have been continuing for a week following an attack on a humanitarian aid distribution point. According to him, the death toll there had reached 55, while more people could still be trapped under the rubble.