Europe's Biggest Nuclear Plant Is Running on Diesel Again — Two Days Before Peace Talks

The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia plant lost its last outside power line on Sunday and switched to emergency generators. The IAEA says the fuel lasts about two weeks. Here is why that matters, and why it belongs on the Abu Dhabi agenda.

By Clara Hughes

Once again, the word "blackout" is attached to a nuclear power plant in Europe. The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine lost its external electricity supply on Sunday after the Ferosplavna power line was disconnected, the plant's Russian-installed management said, RTÉ reported. Backup diesel generators are now powering the equipment needed to keep the site safe. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the loss. "The cause and location of the latest disconnection are not yet known," the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on X, according to The Independent, adding that the plant has enough fuel for a limited number of emergency diesel generators for about two weeks. Keep