Russian-Held Nuclear Plant’s Last Reactors Disconnected From Grid After Nearby Fire

KYIV (Reuters) – The last two working reactors at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were disconnected from Ukraine’s electricity grid on Thursday after nearby fires damaged overhead power lines, Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom said.

Fires broke out in the ash pits of a coal plant located near the Zaporizhzhia plant – Europe’s largest nuclear facility – and damaged the power lines connecting it to the grid, the company said.

“As a result, the station’s two working power units were disconnected from the network,” Energoatom said in a statement.

The plant’s security systems were working normally and work was under way to reconnect one of reactor blocks to the grid, the company said.

An energy official who declined to be identified told Reuters that the two reactors that had been disconnected were being powered by diesel generators.

Each power unit that includes a reactor, a cooling system and other equipment has three Soviet-era diesel generators that “are not able to work for weeks,” the source said.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February, captured the Zaporizhzhia plant in March and has controlled it since, although it continues to be operated by Ukrainian technicians from Energoatom.

The power plant has six reactors in total.