Russia blacked out Europe’s largest nuclear plant 15 times since occupying it in 2022

The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) again lost external power on the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster, Energoatom said. The same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi any formalization of Russia's presence at the plant is inadmissible.

The Ferosplavna-1 transmission line went down on 26 April, putting the plant into blackout mode. For an hour and a half, 19 backup diesel generators kept the facility running. This marked the 15th time an external power has failed at the plant since Russia seized it in 2022.

Energoatom warned that each such incident significantly raises risks for nuclear and radiation safety across Europe, not only in Ukraine. Only the plant's return to Ukrainian control under Energoatom can guarantee safe operation, the company said.

Zelenskyy presses Grossi against legitimizing Russian presence

In the meeting with the head of the IAEA — UN's nuclear watchdog — Zelenskyy said any formalization or legalization of Russia's presence at Zaporizhzhia is inadmissible. The two discussed temporary disconnections at the plant, reductions in unit capacity, and the possible consequences of these criminal acts.

"We agreed to continue IAEA missions to ensure continuous monitoring of the condition of the ZNPP," the President wrote.

For safe operation, Zelenskyy said, the plant must return to its licensed operator and Ukraine's nuclear regulator. 

The 26 April outage extends a pattern of forced reliance on diesel generators since 2022. Russian shelling triggered a 12th such blackout in early January 2026. Last autumn, a record four-week outage pushed the plant beyond its design limits.