(KYIV, UKRAINE) – The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, under Russian military control, lost all external electricity supply twice in a single day, forcing it to rely on emergency diesel generators to maintain critical safety functions. Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom reported the incidents on Saturday, 8 August 2026.
The first disconnection occurred at 10:59 local time, when the 330 kV overhead power line L-243, known as “Ferrosplavna – ZaTES No.1”, went offline. This line supplies the plant’s own needs. It reconnected automatically at the Ferrosplavna substation and was under voltage while required procedures were carried out. During that period, diesel generators covered the station’s internal power demand. External supply was restored at 11:52.
The plant lost outside power for a second time at 14:26. Its own needs were again switched to diesel generators. Supply was reconnected from the 330 kV Ferrosplavna-1 line at 15:35, restoring external electricity to the facility.
Energoatom warned that the events again show the extreme vulnerability of the Zaporizhzhia plant under Russian occupation. Any disruption to the normal electricity supply arrangements at a nuclear site, the company said, creates additional risks for nuclear and radiation safety. The operator stressed that the station’s continued operation under illegal Russian management, with no legitimate right to run a Ukrainian nuclear facility, remains a constant source of danger.
The loss of external power on 4 August marked the twelfth complete blackout at the plant so far in 2026, and the twenty fourth since Russian forces seized the site. Half of all blackouts at the station have now occurred during the current year. Saturday’s two disconnections bring the total to 14 for 2026 and 26 since capture.
The Zaporizhzhia plant is Europe’s largest nuclear power station, with six reactors each capable of producing 950 megawatts. Before the invasion, the site generated about 20 percent of Ukraine’s electricity, producing roughly 40 billion kilowatt hours annually. That output was valued at approximately $2.8 billion, equivalent to about £2.2 billion or €2.6 billion, at average 2021 electricity prices.
All units are now in cold shutdown, yet the plant still needs reliable external power to run cooling pumps and other essential safety systems. Without it, the station depends on diesel generators and limited fuel stocks on site. The International Atomic Energy Agency has previously reported problems with water supply at the plant. Separately, six commanders of Russia’s National Guard were sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court for shelling the Zaporizhzhia station in 2022.