According to Ukrainian authorities, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which is currently occupied by Russia, was reconnected to the electrical grid on Monday at noon after a disruption caused by Russian attacks during the night.
Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian public operator, stated in a Telegram post that “the power has been restored to the nuclear power plant from the Ukrainian power system.”
The Ukrainian atomic agency, Energoatom, had reported earlier in the morning that the plant had been disconnected from the electrical grid due to a Russian nocturnal attack.
On the other hand, the Russian administration stated that the plant “lost its external power supply” due to a cutoff in the Dniprovska high-voltage line, without providing further details.
According to the Ukrainian military, the city of Dnipro in the central-eastern part of the country was attacked from Sunday night to Monday with 16 Russian missiles and 20 explosive drones. During this attack, four missiles and all Russian drones were shot down, but at least eight civilians were injured.
The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, affirmed that the nuclear security of the plant is “extremely vulnerable” and called for measures to protect it.
This officially marks the seventh time that the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been disconnected from the electrical grid since its occupation by the Russian army in March 2022. Despite periods of bombardment, the plant continued operating during the initial months of the Russian offensive but was eventually shut down in September. Since then, none of the six VVER-1000 reactors from the Soviet era have generated power, but the plant remains connected to the Ukrainian energy system and uses the electricity it produces for its own needs, including reactor cooling.