Energy workers have restored power supply to the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, bringing it out of a complete blackout - the tenth since the start of the full-scale invasion. The plant had remained without external power for an entire month. This was announced by Ukrainian Minister of Energy Svitlana Grynchuk on her Facebook page.
“Following the completion of repairs on the 750 kV Dniprovska transmission line, restoration efforts on the 330 kV Ferosplavna line are ongoing. During this entire period, the safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant depended solely on emergency diesel generators, posing an unprecedented threat to nuclear and radiation safety not only for Ukraine, but for the entire European continent,” the Minister emphasized.
The power outage at the Zaporizhzhia NPP was caused by systematic shelling and damage to transmission lines by Russian occupation forces. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian energy workers have restored the plant’s power supply lines 42 times.
The Minister stressed that the only way to ensure long-term nuclear safety is the de-occupation and demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, followed by its return under the full legal control of the Ukrainian operator, NNEGC Energoatom.
“I am grateful to every energy worker, the IAEA, and all our international partners for their unwavering support and efforts to ensure nuclear safety,” added Ms. Grynchuk.
