Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia reconnected to the electrical grid

Ukrenergo “restored power at the nuclear plant with the Ukrainian electrical system,” the Ukrainian public operator said in a statement published on Telegram.

The Ukrainian atomic agency Energoatom had announced that the plant had been disconnected from the electricity grid following a nighttime “attack” by Russian forces.

The Russian administration highlighted that the plant “lost external electrical power supply” due to the cutting of the Dniprovska high-voltage line (connected to an electrical power plant in the Dnipro region), without revealing further details.

According to the Ukrainian army, the city of Dnipro (center-east) was the target of an attack in the early hours of Sunday to Monday with 16 missiles and 20 Russian explosive drones.

During the “night attack,” four missiles and all Russian drones were shot down and at least eight civilians were injured, according to a military statement posted on Facebook and the local governor.

The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, stated that the plant's nuclear safety is “extremely vulnerable”.

“We must establish an agreement to protect the plant. This situation cannot continue,” he wrote on Twitter.

Officially, this is the seventh time that the huge nuclear complex has been isolated from the power grid since it was occupied by the Russian army on March 4, 2022.

The previous blackout, in early March, was triggered by a wave of Russian missile attacks, according to Ukrainian state operator Energoatom. External power was restored after a few hours.

The plant, which produced 20% of Ukraine's electricity, remained in operation in the first months of the Russian offensive, despite bombings, before being closed in September.

Since then, none of the six Soviet-era VVER-1000 reactors generate power, but the plant remains connected to the Ukrainian energy system and consumes the electricity it produces for its own needs, including cooling the reactors.

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