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Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost its last external power supply on Saturday, with only one of its six reactors still operational.
The Russian military has held the power plant since the early days of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion in February. The shutdown of the power plant’s last main power line leaves only a reserve line to power the Ukrainian grid.
The Zaporizhia power plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, and experts have warned that the Russian invasion could cause a Chernobyl-style disaster at the power plant.
The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency dispatched a team to inspect the facility. The team’s arrival was delayed due to Russian shelling along the road they intended to take.
UKRAINE NUCLEAR AGENCY WARNINGS RISK OF HYDROGEN AND RADIOACTIVE LEAKS AFTER DAMAGE TO ZAPORIZHZHIA FACILITY
TOPSHOT – A Russian soldier patrols the territory of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Energodar on May 1, 2022. – The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. (ANDREY BORODULIN/AFP via Getty Images) ((Photo by Andrey BORODULIN/AFP) (Photo by ANDREY BORODULIN/AFP via Getty Images))
IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi and other officials try to negotiate access to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, in this handout picture released September 1, 2022. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). (International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) / Handout via Portal )
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The stress at the Ukrainian plant comes as the rest of Europe turns to nuclear power to offset the loss of oil and natural gas imports from Russia.
Germany was due to close all of its reactors by the end of the year but is now debating whether to keep them open into next year or even longer.
Belgium, meanwhile, planned to close two reactors by 2025 but will now keep them open until 2036, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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France intends to build another 14 reactors over the next few decades. According to the report, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland and others are also planning new reactors.