The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has experienced its longest communication outage since the start of the war

A prolonged communication outage occurred at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, coinciding with reports of increased military activity and attacks on the city of Energodar. The plant completely lost landline telephone service and internet connectivity for 12 hours, marking the longest such incident since the start of the full-scale invasion. 

This was stated in an official statement by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The IAEA Director General described the incident as alarming from a nuclear safety perspective, as international experts were unable to contact their team at the facility for an extended period. Due to the security situation at the plant, the supply of diesel fuel from a nearby storage facility for the steam generators was also suspended; however, there is currently enough fuel on the ZNPP premises for the emergency diesel generators to last for more than ten days. Ensuring backup power is critical, as Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been completely dependent for over two months on the sole surviving 330 kV “Feroplavna-1” power line, while IAEA negotiations with Ukraine and Russia regarding the repair of the main 750 kV line have been fruitless due to the complexity of the work near the front line.

 The IAEAwarns of an increased risk of a nuclear disaster.

The Zaporizhzhia NPP has recordedits 15th blackout since the start of the occupation.

Earlier, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant resumed operations on Ukraine’s power grid after a one-and-a-half-hour interruption in external power supply.