10/01/2025October 1, 2025Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant no imminent threat despite outage — IAEA
The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine does not pose an immediate risk, despite it having been without power for more than a week, as long as its generators keep working, the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA said late Tuesday.
“While the plant is currently coping thanks to its emergency diesel generators — the last line of defense — and there is no immediate danger as long as they keep working, it is clearly not a sustainable situation in terms of nuclear safety,” IAEA head Rafael Grossi said in a statement.
In the statement, the IAEA said the plant’s management had told it that the site still had fuel reserves for more than 10 days of operation with the backup of supplies from outside.
The plant, Europe’s largest, lost power on September 23, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr on Tuesday calling the situation there “critical” amid what is the longest of the 10 outages from the grid it has had since being seized by Russian forces.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that “the Russian side is ensuring safety at the station,” while blaming Ukraine for shelling the site.
Kyiv accuses Russian forces of doing the same thing, which Peskov dismissed as ridiculous in view of the fact that Russia controls the plant.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the facility, which is situated near the frontl line, has seen several safety threats, including frequent nearby shelling, repeated power cuts and staff shortages.
Inside Zaporizhzhia — a nuclear plant in the midst of war
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