Last reactor at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant stopped

Europe's largest atomic works has been reconnected to Ukraine's energy grid, allowing engineers to unopen down its past operational reactor successful an effort to debar a radiation catastrophe arsenic warring rages successful the area.

The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia works mislaid its extracurricular root of powerfulness a week agone aft each its powerfulness lines were disconnected arsenic a effect of shelling. It was operating successful "island mode" for respective days, generating energy for important cooling systems from its lone remaining operational reactor.

Nuclear relation Energoatom said 1 of those powerfulness lines was restored "to its operational capacity" precocious Saturday, making it imaginable to tally the plant's information and different systems connected energy from the powerfulness strategy of Ukraine.

"Therefore, a determination was made to unopen down powerfulness portion No. 6 and transportation it to the safest authorities – acold shutdown," the institution said successful a statement.

Energoatom said the hazard remains precocious that extracurricular powerfulness is chopped again, successful which lawsuit the works would person to occurrence up exigency diesel generators to support the reactors chill and forestall a atomic meltdown. The company's main told The Associated Press connected Thursday that the works lone has diesel substance for 10 days.

The plant, 1 of the 10 biggest atomic powerfulness stations successful the world, has been occupied by Russian forces since the aboriginal stages of the war. Ukraine and Russia person blamed each different for shelling astir the works that has damaged the powerfulness lines connecting it to the grid.

Energoatom renewed its entreaty for Russian forces to permission the Zaporizhzhia works and let for the instauration of a "demilitarized zone" astir it.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. atomic watchdog which has 2 experts astatine the plant, confirmed to the AP connected Sunday that outer powerfulness has been restored astatine Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

"After yesterday's restoration of the powerfulness enactment – which connects the ZNPP to the switchyard of a adjacent thermal powerfulness presumption – the relation of the ZNPP this greeting unopen down its past operating reactor, which implicit the past week had been providing the works with the required powerfulness aft it was disconnected from the grid," the IAEA said successful an emailed statement. "IAEA unit contiguous astatine the ZNPP were informed this greeting astir these caller developments, which were besides confirmed by Ukraine."

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi has called for a harmless portion astir the works to avert a disaster.