Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant cut off from Ukraine grid for first time

Nearby fires interfere with power lines connecting to nuclear plant

The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been completely disconnected from the country’s power grid for the first time ever.

State nuclear company Energoatom said Zaporizhzhia - Europe’s largest nuclear facility - had been cut off after nearby fires interfered with power lines on Thursday.

It said the fires had broken out in the ash pits of a coal power station near the reactor complex.

“As a result, the station’s two working power units were disconnected from the network,” Energoatom said in a statement.

“Thus, the actions of the invaders caused a complete disconnection of the (nuclear power plant) from the power grid - the first in the history of the plant,” it said.

The vast nuclear power plant supplied more than 20 per cent of Ukraine’s electricity needs and its loss would pile new strain on the government.

Ukraine is already bracing for a difficult wartime winter of potentially crippling energy shortages.

A Russian serviceman guards an area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant (AP)

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February, captured the Zaporizhzhia plant in March and has controlled it since, although it continues to be operated by Ukrainian technicians from Energoatom.

Energoatom said the nuclear plant was still being supplied with power from Ukraine’s energy system through a final power line between the plant and the coal power station.

But an energy official who declined to be identified told Reuters that the two reactors that had been disconnected were being powered by diesel generators.

Each power unit, which includes a reactor, a cooling system and other equipment, has three Soviet-era diesel generators that “are not able to work for weeks”, the source said.

A spokesperson for Energoatom denied the diesel generators had been switched on.

Energoatom said the plant’s security systems were working normally and work was underway to reconnect one of the reactor blocks to the grid.

The power plant has six reactors in total.

Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling the site, fuelling international fears of the potential for a disastrous nuclear accident.

That has prompted calls for an urgent mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the site.

Officials from the UN nuclear watchdog are “very, very close” to being able to visit Zaporozhzhia, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said on Thursday.