Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost its external electricity supply early on Sunday, 8 November, and is again relying on emergency diesel generators to keep its nuclear fuel cool, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. The plant's management and the UN nuclear watchdog both confirmed the outage, Reuters reported.

The plant lost its only remaining grid connection when the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 transmission line disconnected at 02:36 local time. The IAEA said this was the 27th complete loss of off-site power at the facility since the conflict began, and the cause and location of the disconnection are not yet known.

The agency said the plant currently has enough fuel to run a limited number of emergency diesel generators for about two weeks. Its director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, called for the grid connection to be restored and for diesel stocks to be increased. The plant's main Dniprovska power line has been unavailable since at least 23 October.

Zaporizhzhia, Europe's largest nuclear plant with six reactors, produces no electricity but needs external power to keep nuclear fuel cool. It has been under Russian control since the early weeks of the 2022 invasion, and its reactors are in cold shutdown.

Ukraine's state nuclear operator Energoatom warned that operating in blackout mode creates a direct risk if diesel generators break down or exhaust their fuel, which it said could lead to a radiation accident. A local ceasefire brokered by the IAEA in early September allowed repairs that restored external power after the plant had been without it since 20 August.