Saturday, March 29, 2025
The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine has been running on emergency diesel generators for over three days, marking an unprecedented power outage that has triggered grave international safety warnings. The six-reactor facility, Europe’s largest, lost its final external electricity source on Tuesday afternoon.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, called the situation “deeply concerning” after meeting with Vladimir Putin on Thursday, but the crisis continues.
Ukrainian officials and Western analysts fear Moscow is deliberately creating a crisis to solidify its control over the frontline plant. Experts are particularly alarmed by suggestions that Russia may be planning to restart at least one reactor despite the extreme dangers of wartime operation.
Ukrainian sources note that exceeding the 72-hour threshold for operating without external power—a safety standard set after the Fukushima disaster—is untested territory for the plant. While Russian operators claim to have enough diesel for 20 days, the IAEA head Grossi warned that the loss of external power “increases the likelihood of a nuclear accident.”
The latest power line failure occurred on the Russian-held side of the Dnipro River. While Russia blames Ukrainian shelling for complicating repairs, Kyiv vehemently denies firing at the facility.
Concerns are growing that Russia plans to connect the plant to its own power grid. Satellite evidence suggests Russia is nearing completion of an alternative power line through occupied territory. Officials believe Russia will then attempt to portray itself as the “saviour” by resolving the crisis it may have manufactured, potentially using the opportunity to restart a reactor—a move considered unprecedented during a war.
Greenpeace has urgently called on the IAEA to intervene, demanding that Russia abandon any reactor restart plans and accept full responsibility for the nuclear security crisis.
