IAEA says Zaporíjia nuclear power plant can suffer blackout in 10 days

A UN nuclear agency recalled, in a statement, that, after the increase in military activity on the northern bank of the Dniepre River, the power plant lost, on 20 August, the Ferosplavna-1 line, of 330 kilovolts, the only external link left.

The day before, the IAEA had reported three drone attacks at the facilities of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporíjia in the last few days, which left two injured officials without any leakage of radioactivity.

He mentioned that he was informed of these three incidents at the beginning of the week, which again highlights the constant dangers to nuclear safety in the context of the ongoing military conflict in Ukrainian territory.

Currently, the facilities rely exclusively on their emergency diesel generators “to provide the electricity needed for essential nuclear safety functions”, mainly for pumps cooling the six reactors and their irradiated fuel pools, the UN agency indicated.

The Director-General of IAEA, Rafael Grossi, today warned that, at a time when supply logistics faces serious difficulties, the plant has diesel fuel for only ten days, a quantity that corresponds to “the minimum regulatory requirement”.

The last delivery to the external deposit took place in March and subsequent shipments were suspended due to the fighting, and the organization was also appointed, based in Vienna.

The IAEA inspectors deployed on the ground have not been able to inspect the deposit since 2025, since the operators of the Zaporíjia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) denied them access, claiming security reasons.

To prevent a catastrophic failure, several tens of tons of diesel have recently been transferred from nearby locations.

However, “without re-establishing the external electrical supply or without additional deliveries of diesel fuel in the near future, the power plant may suffer a total blackout within about ten days,” Grossi said.

The IAEA recalled that, before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Zaporíjia power station had ten external power lines.

Now, the agency is negotiating with the warring parties a local and temporary truce to repair the only external link he has left.

The agency also warned that the physical security of the plant is still threatened by explosions and drones in its vicinity.

Three recent attacks injured two workers at the plant and reached critical areas, such as the irradiated fuel tank.

Although radiation levels remain within normal parameters, Grossi classified these attacks as “unacceptable”.

Russian forces took control of Zaporíjia (the largest nuclear power plant in Europe with six reactors) in the first weeks of the invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of endangering the safety of the plant.

Although the installation no longer produces electricity, since its reactors are in technical stop, it still needs constant electrical supply and operating systems to ensure cooling of the core and irradiated nuclear fuel, which continues to generate residual heat.

The instability caused by the war also affects other Ukrainian installations, such as Chernobyl, Khmelnytskyi and the southern Ukrainian power plant, whose leaders report constant aerial alerts to the IAEA and the recurrent overflight of drones and missiles.