The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant went offline after the last line to it from Ukrainian-controlled territory was cut off, but has since been repaired, the Energy Ministry in Kyiv said on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Reactor 2 of Zaporizhzhya NPPPhoto: Taisia ​​Vorontsova / Sputnik / Profimedia

The plant was seized by Russia in March 2022 and no longer produces electricity, but it needs a source of electricity to cool one of its four reactors, which is in “hot storage”, meaning it has not been completely shut down.

According to the message of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine in Telegram, one power line to the station was disconnected late on Friday evening, and the last line, 750 kW, was disconnected at 02:31 on Saturday.

“This is the eighth power outage that has occurred at (Zaporizhka Power Plant) and could lead to a nuclear disaster,” the report says.

The ministry reported that after the shutdown, the plant turned on 20 backup generators to meet its own electricity needs.

According to the source, at seven o’clock in the morning, Ukrainian specialists repaired the 750 kW line, which is now supplying electricity to the plant again.