IAEA: Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant loses external power for 17th time since start of war

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine temporarily lost external electricity supply for the 17th time since the start of the Russia–Ukraine war, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a post on X.

According to the agency, cited by Report, the outage was caused by a drone strike on the Nikopol substation located across the Dnipro River from the plant. The plant's only remaining power transmission line was disconnected for about 20 minutes.

During the outage, the plant was powered by emergency diesel generators. The external line was later restored shortly before midnight, the IAEA said.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi warned that the incident highlights continuing risks to nuclear safety during the conflict and urged all sides to exercise maximum restraint to prevent a nuclear accident.