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The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian forces, has been without external power for more than a week but faces no imminent danger as long as its backup generators continue to function, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said late Tuesday.
Europe’s largest atomic plant lost power Sept. 23, marking the longest of 10 outages since Russia seized the facility after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the situation “critical.”
Plant officials told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the site still has fuel reserves for more than 10 days of operation, “with regular offsite supplies maintaining this level,” the agency said.
“While the plant is currently coping thanks to its emergency diesel generators—the last line of defense—and there is no immediate danger as long as they keep working, it is clearly not a sustainable situation in terms of nuclear safety,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement.
“Neither side would benefit from a nuclear accident... I’m in constant contact with the two sides to enable the plant’s swift reconnection to the electricity grid,” he added.
Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of endangering the site through attacks.
The six reactors, which before the war generated about one-fifth of Ukraine’s electricity, remain shut down but still require power for cooling and safety systems to prevent a meltdown.
Since the war began, Zaporizhzhia has faced repeated safety threats, including nearby shelling, frequent power cuts and staff shortages.
The facility, near the city of Energodar on the Dnieper River, sits close to the front line.
1 min read
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday claimed its forces captured the village of Verbove in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) west of Kalynivske, which Moscow said it seized Sept. 22.
The village lies roughly 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) north of the border between the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.
Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment, and the claim could not be independently verified in the ongoing war, now in its fourth year.
5 min read
