Ukrainian energy workers have resumed operation of the line supplying external power to the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. According to Energoatom, the plant was successfully reconnected to the Unified Energy System of Ukraine after a period during which its critical systems had been running solely on diesel generators. On the evening of the previous day, the ZNPP's own needs were powered from the restored line, and the plant's current consumption, according to the company, stands at 11 MW.

Repair conditions: local ceasefire

Energoatom emphasized that restoring the external power supply was made possible by the joint work of Ukrainian energy workers and an agreed local ceasefire, which created the necessary conditions for carrying out repair work on the damaged line. Ukrainian specialists, however, carried out their tasks under serious threat posed by the unpredictable actions of Russian occupiers, with constant risks to personnel safety.

Risks to nuclear and radiation safety

According to Energoatom, the Zaporizhzhia NPP had been without external power supply since August 20, and throughout this period the plant's critical systems were powered by diesel generators. The company noted that this mode created additional risks to the nuclear and radiation safety of Europe's largest nuclear power plant. It had previously been indicated that prolonged use of backup systems increases the risk of common-cause equipment failure — a scenario considered among the most dangerous threats to nuclear safety.

Contradictory data

The timeline of the outages is presented differently across sources. Energoatom's statement describes the restoration as the end of a single period of operation without external power that began on August 20. At the same time, according to IAEA data, the Zaporizhzhia NPP lost external power for the third time in a week, while a number of Ukrainian media outlets recorded two external power outages within a single day. Thus, one side emphasizes the successful restoration after a prolonged outage, whereas international monitoring and Ukrainian media highlight the chronic instability and repeated nature of the failures, indicating the extremely vulnerable state of the plant's power supply.

Energoatom's position: safety only after deoccupation

Energoatom states that full nuclear and radiation safety at the Zaporizhzhia NPP can be ensured only after its deoccupation, return under Ukrainian control, and handover to the sole legitimate operator — Energoatom. According to the Ukrainian side, after the plant's seizure, Russian military forces use its territory for military purposes: weapons and equipment are deployed on the site, and strike drones are launched from it, which, according to Kyiv, creates additional risks to nuclear safety.