Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has gone more than a week without external power

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been without external electricity for more than a week, forcing it to depend on emergency diesel generators to keep its six shut-down reactors cool.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the Zaporizhzhia plant had received diesel supplies on Thursday and Friday from an off-site location. But the facility has only about 10 days of fuel available, while it has not received a delivery from another off-site storage facility for roughly six months.

“ The availability of diesel fuel is of paramount importance whenever a nuclear power plant loses off-site power,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said. The Vienna-based agency is trying to negotiate a local ceasefire so workers can repair damaged electrical lines.

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The availability of diesel fuel is of paramount importance whenever a nuclear power plant loses off-site power.

The plant has not generated electricity since September 2022, but its reactors still require cooling to prevent the nuclear fuel from overheating. Ukrainian deputy military law enforcement chief Gyunduz Mamedov said this was the facility’s 27th blackout since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Russia has occupied the plant since 2022, and the IAEA has maintained a permanent presence there since September that year. Both sides regularly accuse each other of attacks around the site, which lies on the Dnipro River near the front line. The IAEA said three drone incidents occurred at the plant during the week, injuring two employees, without identifying the perpetrators. Earlier this month, a nearby drone strike killed one nuclear specialist and wounded 17 people. Moscow blamed Kyiv, while Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Russia of nuclear blackmail.

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This is the 27th blackout at the plant since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.