«--[· Preface ·]--»
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the current situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is "critical" because the facility has been without power for seven days.
“It’s been seven days now, and this has never happened before,” Zelensky said in a speech on Tuesday night.
“Russian war burns to the door of European energy security.”
On September 23, local time, as the last external power line was cut off, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Ukrainian Baltic Thermal Power Plant, fell into darkness. This six-reactor super power plant has been relying on a spare diesel generator for seven consecutive days to maintain its cooling system.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said in his late-night speech: “Russian artillery is creating a nuclear disaster, and no terrorist in the world dares to take such a crazy move!”
The crisis at the Zaporozhye Thermal Nuclear Power Plant began with a sudden shelling. According to the news released by the nuclear power plant operators, the Ukrainian attack on the afternoon of September 23 caused serious damage to the 750 kV high-voltage transmission line that supplied the power to the power plant.
The nuclear power plant with Europe's largest installed capacity (with a total power of 5700 MW) instantly lost all external power supply and was forced to start a backup diesel generator system. This is not the first time that the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant has suffered a power outage crisis.
Since the full escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February 2022, the power plant has repeatedly been disrupted externally due to gunfire, with the last major power outage occurring in July 2025, when the power plant relied on spare power for four hours.
But the situation was different: as of September 30, the power plant had been unable to restore external power supply for seven consecutive days, setting the longest power outage record since the outbreak of the conflict.
Although current diesel reserves can still operate generators for more than 10 days, long-term reliance on emergency power poses huge risks. What is even more worrying is that shelling around the power station continues, and maintenance personnel cannot access the damaged lines for repair.
«--[· How power outages threaten nuclear safety ·]--»
What does power supply interruption mean for nuclear power plants? Even if the reactor is in a cold shutdown state, its core components will continue to generate decay heat. Take the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as an example. The 1,200 tons of nuclear fuel stored in six reactors will still release heat equivalent to the burning of hundreds of tons of coal every hour.
If the cooling system fails, the fuel bar may melt down due to overheating, releasing a large amount of radioactive material. More dangerous is the lack of fuel storage facilities. In the dry storage barrels of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, more than 4,000 waste fuel bars are stored, and their radioactive strength is several times the core of the reactor.
A shelling in August 2022 caused a shell to land only 10 meters away from the spent fuel storage facility, which almost caused a disaster. IAEA experts warned that once the storage barrel ruptures due to high temperatures or physical impact, radioactive materials will spread through the atmosphere, with the impact likely covering the entire Europe.
The subsequent impact of the destruction of the Kahovka dam further aggravated the crisis. The water reservoir that supplied cooling water to the power plant fell sharply after it was destroyed in June 2023. Although the power plant currently relies on a nearby cooling pool to maintain its water supply, the continued decline in the water level could cause the cooling system to completely disappear in the coming weeks.
“It’s upgrading.”
The Russian and Ukrainian side have waged a fierce public opinion war around the power outage at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, accusing the Ukrainian army of using drones and rockets to deliberately disrupt the transmission lines, and qualifying the incident as a "acts of nuclear terrorism".
Likhachev, CEO of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation, warned that Ukrainian attacks are pushing Europe to the brink of a "Chernobyl-class disaster." Ukraine, on the other hand, accused the Russian military of directing and conducting itself, trying to divert battlefield pressure by creating a nuclear crisis. Ukrainian Energy Minister Grinchuk emphasized that the Russian-controlled nuclear power plant staff deliberately cut off the connection to the Ukraine power grid in order to pave the way for the integration of the power plant into the Russian power grid.
It is worth noting that the Russian side has repeatedly stated plans to connect the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to the Russian power grid to meet the electricity needs of the Crimea and the eastern region.
Zaporizhzhia's nuclear power plants are not only energy facilities, but also geopolitical bargaining chips. Controlling the power station can not only affect Ukraine's power supply, but also form an energy deterrent to Europe.
«--[·Can we stop the countdown to nuclear disasters?]--»
The IAEA has launched an emergency response mechanism, with Director-General Grossi holding talks with Russian and Ukrainian leaders over the past week, urging both sides to immediately cease the fire and allow repair teams to enter the disaster area.
UN Secretary-General Guterres also issued a statement stressing that "protecting the safety of nuclear facilities is an absolute obligation of international law". The EU's response was particularly nervous. As an important importer of power from Zaporizhzhia's nuclear power plants, many European countries have launched emergency energy plans.
Germany's Ministry of Economy announced that it would restart some decommissioned coal plants to fill the power gap; Poland is accelerating its grid interconnection project with Ukraine in an attempt to introduce power from power stations into the EU grid. However, these measures cannot replace the key role of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The power plant provided 25% of Ukraine's electricity supply before the war. Its shutdown directly paralyzed Ukraine's power grid, which in turn affected the stability of Europe's energy market.
The Russian side insisted that the Ukrainian army should stop its attacks first, while the Ukrainian side refused to make concessions on territorial issues. Both sides’ negotiations within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency collapsed, and repair teams have so far failed to enter the damaged areas. More worrying is that as winter approaches, energy shortages may exacerbate the intensity of the conflict, forming a vicious cycle of “electricity shutdowns – more shutdowns”.
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At present, the fate of Zaporizhzhia's nuclear power plant is still in the air. The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency shows that although the radiation level around the power station is not abnormal, the stability of the backup power supply is declining. If external power cannot be restored within the next 7 days, the risk of cooling system failure will increase significantly.
Europe's energy security is on the brink of nuclear disaster. This crisis once again warns the world that there is no absolute security in war. When artillery fire is aimed at nuclear power plants, the bottom line of human civilization is being breached.