Zaporizhzhia NPP experiences longest communication outage since the start of the war — IAEA

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has experienced the longest communication outage since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Against the backdrop of increased military activity in the area around the plant, landline telephone and internet services were down for about 12 hours.

This was announced by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

According to the IAEA, the incident occurred on Wednesday, May 27. The cause of the outage was initially unknown, but the outage coincided with reports of shelling of the temporarily occupied Energodar, where most of the Zaporizhzhia NPP employees live.

The IAEA stressed that the situation once again demonstrates critical risks to nuclear safety in wartime.

“This is another reminder of the ongoing challenges associated with ensuring nuclear safety and physical protection, as well as preventing accidents during the conflict, both at the Zaporizhzhia NPP and at other Ukrainian nuclear facilities,” the agency said in a statement.

Power outages and drone attacks

The IAEA also reported that in recent days there have been repeated power outages in the area of ​​the plant due to hostilities.

The agency previously reported a drone attack on the ZNPP external radiation monitoring laboratory on May 3.

In addition, on April 26, the Zaporizhzhia NPP once again went into full blackout mode due to damage to the Ferosplavna-1 power line as a result of Russian shelling.

This was the 15th case of a complete power outage at the plant since its occupation by Russian troops.

Experts have repeatedly warned that any power or communication disruptions at a nuclear facility pose serious safety risks and could lead to emergencies.