The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been switched to standby and emergency power supply generators, according to Russian reports.
The Moscow-controlled plant was “completely” disconnected from external power supply after Ukraine disconnected a power line it controls, Russia-installed local official Vladimir Rogov said on Monday.
Meanwhile Ukraine’s state-owned power generating company Energoatom - confirming on Monday there was a power outage at the power plant - blamed the incident on Russian shelling of an external power line.
The Dniprovska power line in Ukraine, which supplies power for the now Moscow-controlled plant, was disconnected after overnight Russian shelling, Energoatom said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Yes, we have the seventh blackout since the start of the (Russian) occupation,” Energoatom told news agency Reuters.
However, Yuriy Malashko, governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, said on the Telegram messaging app: “Problems with electricity supply that arose in the city of Zaporizhzhia are not related to shelling.
Mr Malashko said there was a fire at one of the facilities in Zaporizhzhia city due to an overload in the power system.
Anatoliy Kurtev, Zaporizhzhia city council’s secretary in Ukraine, said work was ongoing since early Monday to restore power to the city.
“(The power) partially disappeared in Zaporizhzhia due to an emergency situation at one of the energy facilities,” Mr Kurtev said on the Telegram messaging app.
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - the largest in Europe and ninth largest in the world - was taken over by Moscow forces in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sparking widespread safety concerns.
