Zelenskyy blames Russia for Chornobyl and Zaporizhzhia power cuts

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately cutting power to the Chornobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear plants, creating a risk of nuclear incidents.

Zelenskyy said Moscow staged an attack on Slavutych that cut off power to the decommissioned Chornobyl plant for three hours, using more than 20 Russian-Iranian Shahed drones. Ukraine’s energy ministry reported that the strikes affected 307,000 customers in the nearby Chernihiv region and left the new safe confinement facility over the fourth reactor without power.

He also criticised Russia for failing to restore the external power line to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia plant, now in its eighth day of outage. Zelenskyy said Moscow was exploiting the “weak” position of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its Director General, Rafael Grossi, to create nuclear risks.

The IAEA confirmed “fluctuations” at Chornobyl but said alternative power lines were used and supply was later restored. Russia has not commented on the Chornobyl incident but insists it is ensuring the safety of Zaporizhzhia, claiming the plant has come under repeated fire from Ukrainian forces.

Grossi said emergency diesel generators were functioning at Zaporizhzhia, but external power lines must be repaired to prevent potential danger.

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