The tenth blackout at Zaporizhzhia NPP: is Ukraine facing a nuclear disaster during the occupation?
23 September 2025 20:04
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is the largest in Europe, generating up to 20% of Ukraine’s electricity. Since its seizure by Russian troops, the plant has been under illegitimate management, which increases the risk of accidents and threatens nuclear safety not only in Ukraine but across the continent.
Full blackout at ZNPP
on September 23, 2025, at 16:56, the last power line supplying Zaporizhzhia NPP with energy from the Ukrainian power grid was disconnected. Energoatom writes about this, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
As a result, the plant switched to powering its own needs from diesel generators, which is a violation of normal operation and creates an increased risk of an accident.
Safety implications
- A complete shutdown of external power supply jeopardizes the operation of cooling systems and NPP control systems.
- The use of diesel generators in such conditions increases the likelihood of technical failures.
- The presence of illegitimate management at the plant increases the risks to nuclear and radiation safety.
Threats and a call to action
- The Ukrainian authorities emphasize that returning the plant to Energoatom’ s control is critical to preventing a catastrophe.
- The uncontrolled stay of the plant under the occupation management could have catastrophic consequences for the whole world.
- The previous nine blackouts have already shown systematic safety violations and a high risk of accidents.
Zaporizhzhia NPP is a strategic energy facility that generates electricity for millions of Ukrainians and exports some of its resources to Europe.
The Russian occupation and constant external power outages jeopardize not only the national energy system but also the environmental safety of the region. International experts and the United Nations have repeatedly called for the return of control of the plant to the legitimate operator to avoid a nuclear disaster.
