Occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant suffers 20th blackout
For the 20th time since Russia's full-scale invasion, the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant lost external power on June 20 due to Russian military activity. Emergency diesel generators activated automatically, and power was later restored.
Ukraine's Ministry of Energy and state nuclear company Energoatom reported on June 20 that the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant had once again lost external power supply due to Russian military activity. This marks the 20th such incident since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
The power outage occurred on the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 overhead transmission line. Automatic emergency diesel generators immediately started to provide backup power for cooling the reactor core and maintaining other critical nuclear safety functions.
Energoatom later updated that at 5:50 PM, external power supply to the plant was restored. Currently, the station's own needs are being met via a 330 kV overhead line. The event underscores the ongoing nuclear safety risks at Europe's largest nuclear plant, which has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.
