Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Cut Off From Grid, Diesel Generators Take Over

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is running on backup power. The Russian-installed management of the facility in southeastern Ukraine said Sunday that the station had lost its external electricity supply after the Ferosplavna power line went down, according to a statement reported by Reuters.

Management said automatic protection systems disconnected the line because of damage. With the grid link severed, diesel generators are now feeding the equipment needed to keep the plant operating safely — the kind of fallback that nuclear stations rely on when outside power disappears.

The plant's staff are watching every operating parameter, management said, adding that all necessary steps to keep the power units in a safe condition are being carried out in full. The statement was posted on MAX, a messenger app backed by the Russian state.

Officials also reported that radiation levels at the site and across the surrounding surveillance zone were normal. That is the number outside observers watch most closely when a nuclear plant loses its connection to the grid.

The plant sits in territory under Russian control, and its management answers to Moscow rather than Kyiv — a split that has shaped how information about the site reaches the outside world. Sunday's update came through that Russian-installed channel, not from Ukrainian authorities.

Diesel backups are a temporary fix, not a permanent one: they keep critical cooling and safety systems alive while crews work on restoring the external line. For now, management says the station is stable and monitoring continues.