Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Safety Crisis: Emergency Generators Running Beyond Design Capacity Amid Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Ukraine's president is raising serious concerns about safety risks at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Both Ukraine's president and the UN nuclear agency chief are warning about heightened safety concerns at the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine, which has been without external power for more than a week as conflict continues in the surrounding area.

Emergency diesel generators are currently supplying power for essential cooling systems for the facility's six shutdown reactors and spent fuel. According to International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi, there is no immediate threat to Europe's largest nuclear facility.

However, Grossi emphasized that "it is clearly not a sustainable situation in terms of nuclear safety."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the backup generators have been running for an unprecedented duration. "The generators and the plant were not designed for this," Zelensky stated late Tuesday, describing the situation as "critical".

As one of the world's 10 largest nuclear plants, Zaporizhzhia's status amid the conflict has sparked fears of a potential nuclear disaster. Russian forces captured the facility shortly after launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The nuclear safety concerns have added to broader anxieties about the ongoing war, which shows no indication of resolution despite a US-led initiative earlier this year to end the fighting.

European leaders, alarmed by airspace violations from unidentified drones and Russian military aircraft, convened Wednesday in Denmark for two summits focused on security, defense and the Ukraine war.

Zelensky attributed the power line damage to Russian artillery, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed Ukrainian shelling.

Peskov told reporters Wednesday that it was "stupid to accuse the Russian side of shelling the plant it controls."

The Vienna-based IAEA has maintained a delicate balance during the conflict, seeking to preserve access to nuclear facilities and issue safety warnings without antagonizing either party. Ukraine operates four nuclear plants, though Zaporizhzhia is the only one under Russian control.

Grossi stated that Zaporizhzhia's emergency generators are managing the additional burden adequately so far.

"The current status of the reactor units and spent fuel is stable as long as the emergency diesel generators are able to provide sufficient power to maintain essential safety-related functions and cooling," he reported in a statement Tuesday evening.

An IAEA team at the plant confirmed fuel reserves that ensure the generators can function for more than 10 days, with regular off-site supplies maintaining this level.

"Nevertheless, it is extremely important that off-site power is restored," Grossi emphasized, adding that he was communicating with Russian and Ukrainian officials regarding swift reconnection of the plant to the power grid.

As Russia's invasion continues across Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia facility has repeatedly been caught in the conflict.

The plant lost its off-site power for the tenth time during the war on September 23, when its only remaining power line was damaged by military activity approximately 1½ kilometers from the facility, according to the IAEA statement.

Currently, eight emergency diesel generators are operating, with nine additional units on standby and three undergoing maintenance, the IAEA reported.

The agency noted that over the past week, the plant has been rotating the generators in use and servicing idle units to ensure continuous availability.