Europe’s largest nuclear facility loses electricity

The largest nuclear power facility in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine, has lost its only external power source as a result of continued shelling, the U.N. nuclear watchdog reported on Saturday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that the plant’s connection to a 750-kilovolt line was severed at approximately 1:00 a.m. on Saturday. It cited official information from Ukraine as well as IAEA expert reports from the site, which is seized by Russian forces.

Even though the plant’s six reactors are deactivated, they still require electricity for cooling and other safety purposes. Engineers have begun repairing the damaged power line, and the plant’s generators have sufficient fuel for at least 10 days, according to the IAEA. Not all of the plant’s generators are now in service.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi stated in a statement that the continuation of bombardment, which targets the plant’s sole source of external electricity, is incredibly reckless.

Grossi traveled to Kiev on Thursday. In the next weeks, he has argued for the establishment of a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around the facility, for which he will shortly fly to Russia and Ukraine.

He stated, “This is an unequivocal and urgent necessity.” The IAEA did not assign responsibility for the bombardment.

Zaporizhzhia is one of four areas illegally seized by Russian President Vladimir Putin in contravention of international law. While the nuclear plant has been under Russian control for months, the same-named city is still under Ukrainian administration.

Putin signed a document recognizing Russia’s takeover of the plant on Wednesday. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry referred to it as a criminal act and stated that Putin’s directive was null and illegal. Energoatom, the national nuclear operator of Ukraine, stated that it would continue to run the reactor.