The safety of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility has been threatened due to a blackout brought on by recent shelling, the UN nuclear watchdog warned on 14/10/2022 Friday, and the station’s operator is considering shutting down the lone remaining reactor.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Grossi tweeted that shelling has caused a complete blackout in Energodar and jeopardised the safe operation of the nearby Zaporizhzhia.

The situation is completely intolerable. He demanded the immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire area because it cannot stand. Only this will secure the safety of the working employees and permit the long-term restoration of power to Energodar and the power plant. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is the Zaporizhzhia plant.

There are now fears of a nuclear catastrophe after it was shelled in recent weeks and occupied by Russian forces in March. Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the attacks. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located in the city of Energodar, which has experienced a total power blackout as a result of the shelling of the switchyard of the thermal power plant, he claimed.

There was a serious possibility that there wouldn’t be enough vital workers at the facility, which put plant operators and other residents of Energodar in increasingly grave situations.

Given the escalating and ongoing bombardment, he also said there was limited likelihood of re-establishing trustworthy off-site power. In light of this, he stated, the IAEA believes that the operator, having no longer trust in the restoration of offsite power, is considering shutting down the sole running reactor.