TheCable

Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been disconnected from the power grid yet again.

According to Grossi, the power cut is the second in five days as Russian troops continue to surround the nuclear plant and its environs.

He added that the plant is currently running backup diesel generators to keep it safe and operational and avert nuclear disaster.

“Our team at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant informed me this morning that the plant has lost all of its external power for the 2nd time in five days. Its backup diesel generators are now providing electricity for its nuclear safety and security functions,” the IEAI boss tweeted.

“This repeated loss of Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant’s off-site power is a deeply worrying development and it underlines the urgent need for a nuclear safety & security protection zone around the site.”

Our team at #Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant informed me this morning that the plant has lost all of its external power for the 2nd time in five days. Its back-up diesel generators are now providing electricity for its nuclear safety and security functions.

— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) October 12, 2022

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Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is Europe’s largest and it fell under Russian control in the earlier days of the war.

The first major power outage in the plant was in August with Ukraine narrowly escaping a nuclear disaster.

Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, had blamed the power cut on persistent shelling of the area by Russian troops.

Moscow refuted the blame and accused Ukrainian troops of being the cause of the power outage.