Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Europe's largest nuclear facility, faces a blackout crisis that could trigger a deadly radioactive leak. With the external power grid cut, the plant is believed to be barely maintaining its cooling system with emergency generators. With fuel reserves amounting to only about 10 days, concern is mounting in the international community over a potential catastrophe from overheating and a radiation release.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), issued a statement on the 29th, local time, saying it is extremely urgent to secure sufficient diesel fuel at the Zaporizhzhia plant site. Grossi warned, "If external power cannot be restored soon or additional diesel fuel cannot be brought in, the plant could face a complete loss of power in about 10 days."
On the 20th, the last remaining 330 kV (kilovolt) external power line was cut at Zaporizhzhia as a result of military operations in the northern area of the Dnipro River nearby. If power is lost and cooling water cannot circulate, the reactors can overheat and cause a radiation disaster. The plant is relying entirely on emergency diesel generators to run the essential cooling pumps for six shut-down reactors and the spent-fuel storage pool. Citing its expert team dispatched to the site, the IAEA said, "As of the 23rd, a check of diesel fuel stocks found only the regulatory minimum of about 10 days' worth remaining."
Zaporizhzhia is Europe's largest nuclear facility, with six Russian-designed pressurized water reactors (VVER-1000) and an installed capacity of 6 gigawatts (GW). The plant has completely halted power production since Sept. 2022 following Russia's invasion. Citing safety concerns, the Ukrainian side holding operational control of the plant blocked IAEA inspection teams from accessing the fuel storage facility starting in Mar. 2025.
Russia is also continuing physical strikes on the Zaporizhzhia plant using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). The IAEA expert team told Reuters that day, "We hear explosions near the plant site every day." On the 25th, a drone attack targeting the area near the cooling pond injured two workers. On the 26th, a drone exploded in the dry spent-fuel storage area.
Grossi criticized threats against plant employees or attacks around key cooling facilities as utterly unacceptable, saying, "Even without a release of nuclear material, this poses a serious risk to nuclear safety." The IAEA is negotiating to designate the area around the plant as a local cease-fire zone to enable grid restoration work.
Conditions at other nuclear facilities across Ukraine are not much different from those at Zaporizhzhia. Drones are being spotted daily around several nuclear sites, including the Chernobyl plant, the South Ukraine plant, and the Khmelnytskyi plant. The IAEA inspection team at the Khmelnytskyi plant said it is repeatedly taking shelter in bunkers to avoid frequent air-raid alerts. Based on funds provided by the international community, including Korea, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, the IAEA is urgently supplying key equipment—such as portable power stations and radiation meters—to Ukraine's regulator in a desperate bid to avert disaster.