The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) has lost external power for the second time in five days, the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency reported Wednesday.

 

The report cited International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi, who described the incident as a "deeply worrying development," which underlines the urgent need for a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the plant.

 

Ukraine's state-run nuclear energy operator Energoatom said that the plant went to full black-out mode after the ZNPP-Dniprovska transmission line was disconnected as an emergency measure following the shelling on the Dniprovska substation carried out by Russian forces.

 

The ZNPP, one of the largest nuclear power plants in Europe, is currently running on diesel generators, Energoatom said on Facebook.

 

On Oct. 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that designates the plant, which has been controlled by Russian forces since early March, as Russian federal property.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he considered the decision an illegal takeover.