ZNPP restores external power supply after 18th blackout
- Author:
- Veronika Dovhaniuk
- Date:
External power supply has been restored at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) after a blackout that lasted 15 hours.
This was reported on the IAEA website.
During the blackout, the plant was powered by emergency diesel generators to provide electricity and cool the six reactors.
This was the 18th blackout at ZNPP during the entire period of the full-scale war. It was also one of the longest.
Whatʼs happening with the Zaporizhzhia NPP now?
The Russians occupied the Zaporizhzhia NPP in early March 2022 and have been operating under their control since then. An IAEA mission has been at the station since September 2022. Ukraine insists on the withdrawal of the Russian occupiers from the station. Russia refuses to create a demilitarized zone at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP has repeatedly lost external power supply due to hostilities near the plant. In such cases, it switched to backup diesel generators. The longest was the tenth blackout, which occurred due to Russian shelling and lasted a month — from September 23 to October 23, 2025.
On May 30, “Rosatom” reported that Ukrainian troops allegedly hit the machine room of unit No. 6 of the Zaporizhzhia NPP with a drone, a few meters from the reactor. The South group of troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that they did not hit the power unit.
Among the evidence: Ukraine does not have fiber-optic drones that can reach the station and carry 5-6 kg of explosives. In addition, the Russians have set up a multi-level smoke screen around the station, and the drone would not have been able to fly through it unnoticed.
Following these accusations by Russia, IAEA conducted an inspection of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. Experts said that the outer part of the turbine housing and the metal hatch were damaged, and they also found several fragments and burnt remains of an optical cable. But IAEA did not specify who the drone belonged to.
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