The situation at Europe's largest nuclear power plant has worsened again. On August 4, the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which is under Russian control, lost its external power supply. The incident lasted for nearly an hour, after which power was restored.
During the outage, the plant operated exclusively on backup diesel generators. Their use is necessary to maintain nuclear and radiation safety, however, this mode of operation is forced and critically stressful for the equipment.
Second case in a week
The incident on August 4 was a repetition of events that occurred just a few days earlier — on August 1. The frequency of power supply failures has increased sharply. According to the Ukrainian operator Energoatom, this is already the 12th blackout at the plant since the beginning of 2026 and the 24th since the start of the Russian occupation.
The statistics look alarming: half of all cases of complete loss of external power since the plant came under the control of Russian troops occurred precisely this year. Experts and plant operators emphasize that each such outage creates a direct threat to safety.
Military risks and dependence on generators
Energoatom states that dependence on diesel generators is unacceptable for a plant of this scale. This is seen as further evidence of critical risks caused by illegal occupation. Safe operation, in the operator's opinion, is possible only after the facility returns to the full control of Ukraine.
An additional risk factor is the use of the plant's territory for military purposes. According to the Ukrainian side, Russian military forces are deploying weapons and equipment at the site, as well as using it to launch attack drones. Such activity turns the nuclear facility into a potential target and significantly increases the likelihood of a technological catastrophe.
