The International Atomic Energy Agency says the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has been without external power for more than a week.
The UN nuclear watchdog issued a statement on Tuesday, revealing the situation at the nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russia.
The statement says the power cut occurred on September 23, when the power plant’s sole remaining power line was damaged by military activity approximately 1.5 kilometers from the plant.
The latest event marks the “tenth complete loss of offsite power” at the plant since the start of Russian invasion of Ukraine.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed concern, saying the latest offsite power cut is “by far the longest lasting such event during more than three and a half years of war.”
The plant’s six reactors have been shut down. The statement says emergency diesel generators started operating after the power cut to supply the power needed to cool the reactors and the spent fuel.
Grossi said there is no immediate danger as long as the diesel generators keep working, but “it is clearly not a sustainable situation.”
He said he is in constant contact with the Russian and Ukrainian sides “with the aim to enable the plant’s swift re-connection to the electricity grid.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the power cut at the Zaporizhzhia plant in a video message posted on Tuesday, saying it is an emergency situation that has never occurred before.
He criticized Russia, saying its shelling “prevents repair of the power lines to the plant and the restoration of basic safety.”