Zelenskyy raises alarm about power outage at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Published on 01/10/2025 - 14:49 GMT+2

Ukraine's president and nan caput of nan UN atomic watchdog person sounded nan siren astir information risks astatine nan Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in confederate Ukraine, which mislaid outer powerfulness proviso much than a week agone as the warfare continues to rage astir it.

Emergency diesel generators are providing powerfulness for important cooling systems for nan facility's six non-operational reactors and spent substance and location is nary contiguous threat to Europe's biggest NPP, nan International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said.

But "it is intelligibly not a sustainable business successful position of atomic safety," he said.

The backup generators person ne'er needed to tally for truthful long, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pointed out.

"The generators and nan works were not designed for this," Zelenskyy said successful comments precocious connected Tuesday, describing nan business arsenic "critical".

Zelenskyy blamed Russian artillery for cutting nan powerfulness statement to nan Zaporizhzhia plant, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was Ukrainian shelling.

Peskov told reporters Wednesday that it was "stupid to impeach nan Russian broadside of shelling nan works it controls."

Grossi said that Zaporizhzhia's emergency generators were coping pinch nan other strain truthful far.

"The existent position of nan reactor units and spent substance is unchangeable arsenic agelong arsenic nan emergency diesel generators are capable to supply capable powerfulness to support basal safety-related functions and cooling," he said successful a connection precocious Tuesday.

An IAEA squad astatine nan works reported that it has substance reserves ensuring nan generators tin run for much than 10 days, pinch regular off-site supplies maintaining this level.

"Nevertheless, it is highly important that off-site powerfulness is restored," Grossi said, adding that he was successful touch pinch Russian and Ukrainian officials astir really to swiftly reconnect nan works to nan grid.

Caught successful nan crossfire

As Russia's full-scale invasion continues crossed nan Ukrainian countryside, nan Zaporizhzhia installation has many times been caught successful nan crossfire.

It mislaid its off-site powerfulness for nan 10th clip during nan warfare connected 23 September, erstwhile its only remaining powerfulness statement was damaged by subject activity astir 1.5 kilometres from nan plant, nan IAEA connection said.

Eight emergency diesel generators are operating, pinch 9 further units successful standby mode and 3 successful maintenance, according to nan IAEA.

It said that complete nan past week, nan works has been alternating those successful usage and servicing idle generators successful an effort to guarantee continuous availability.

Zaporizhzhia is 1 of nan 10 biggest atomic plants successful nan world and its destiny amid nan fighting has caused fears of a imaginable atomic catastrophe.

Russian forces seized it successful nan earliest days pursuing nan penetration of Ukraine connected 24 February 2022.

Ukraine has 4 atomic plants, though Zaporizhzhia is nan only 1 successful Russian hands.

Tensions surrounding nan plant's information person added to broader concerns astir nan people of nan war, which shows nary signs of ending aft a US-led effort this twelvemonth to extremity nan fighting amounted to nothing.