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2h ago

Blackout Hits Chernobyl Site After Strike as Zaporizhzhia Remains Off-Grid

The IAEA said emergency generators powered the New Safe Confinement after a substation attack cut external electricity.

FILE - A view of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia region, in territory under Russian military control, southeastern Ukraine, on May 1, 2022. (AP Photo/File)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds a news briefing, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 27, 2025. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
A general view shows the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure over the old sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Chernobyl.
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Overview

  • Ukraine’s energy ministry reported that power to facilities at the Chernobyl site, including the New Safe Confinement, was cut after a strike on the Slavutych substation in Kyiv region.
  • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the outage lasted more than three hours and alleged a deliberate attack using over 20 Shahed-type drones.
  • The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed the blackout affected the confinement structure and said two diesel generators supplied electricity as teams worked to restore the grid connection.
  • At the Russian‑occupied Zaporizhzhia plant, external power has been down for eight days, with generators maintaining cooling for six shutdown reactors as the IAEA warns this reliance cannot be sustained.
  • Greenpeace and McKenzie Intelligence said satellite imagery showed no shelling crater at a damaged ZNPP pylon and alleged deliberate Russian sabotage, while Russian officials blamed Ukraine and a nuclear expert told TASS there was no disaster threat at Chernobyl.