Key Points and Summary – Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear plant, is cooling its shut-down reactors on diesel after its last external power line was cut in nearby fighting.
-Russian-installed officials blame Ukrainian shelling; Kyiv says Russian fire is blocking repairs.
-The IAEA’s Rafael Grossi calls this the longest grid outage of the war and urges urgent restoration of offsite power.
-Radiation levels remain normal, staff say, but backup generators can’t run forever.
-With the front line only hundreds of meters away, the plant has become a symbol of the war’s creep toward catastrophe: one more strike, one failed generator, and a local battle could become a continental crisis.
Russian-Occupied Nuclear Plant Running on Diesel as Power Line Cut
Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant is only able to run thanks to diesel generators, after its last external power line was recently damaged in fighting between Ukraine and Russia.
This Wednesday, Moscow-installed officials at the Zaporizhzhia plant said that its Dneprovskaya high-voltage line was cut by shelling on September 23, and repairs are not yet in progress. Kyiv claims that Russian fire means repair crews cannot reach the site, while Russia blamed the incident on Ukraine. The National Security Journal is unable to independently verify these claims.
The station, constructed during the Soviet era, sits on the Dnipro River’s banks in southern Ukraine. The station, just some 400 meters from the current frontline, was taken by Russia in 2022.
Plant spokeswoman Yevgeniya Yashina said staff “know what to do” and insisted radiation levels remain normal. “The situation at the station is under control,” she told press, adding that not all backup generators are even being used.
IAEA Sounds Alarm
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) chief, Rafael Grossi, told Reuters that the plant has now been without external power for more than a week: the longest such outage since the war began. “It is extremely important that offsite power is restored,” he warned.
The plant’s six VVER-1000 reactors are all shut down, which means they run cooler than they would during normal operations. Still, they and their spent fuel pools require constant cooling. If both external electricity and backup systems were to fail, the risk of overheating and potentially a meltdown would escalate.
Zaporizhzhia has previously lost external power since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in Spring 2022, however this outage is longer. Diesel is able to keep its cooling systems ticking over for now, but not forever.
Civilian Infrastructure Under Fire
For Ukraine, the episode once again shows just how dangerous it is for Russia to occupy critical civilian infrastructure. Meanwhile Moscow is likely far less concerned with its global image, and far more keen to keep control of this precarious but strategic asset.
As the war plows on towards its fourth year, Zaporizhzhia has developed into more than just an energy site. It is a ticking reminder of how quickly the conflict could escalate from a conventional war to something that could endanger an entire continent.
About the Author: Georgia Gilholy
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education. You can follow her on X: @llggeorgia.