Cars and Travels/Shutterstock Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine "lost all external power for several hours" for the seventh time since Russia's invasion began in February 2022, "underlining the extremely precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the facility and the urgent need to protect it and prevent an accident," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement this week. After the only remaining backup power lines were damaged on Mar. 1, Zaporizhzhia was forced to rely on emergency diesel generators. The Washington Post reported on May 22 that Grossi is working on a new agreement to secure the plant, but Russia has yet to even give an IAEA team access to the site. And leaked documents show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that the IAEA is prevented from forcing "Kyiv to demilitarize" the site. Russian media is meanwhile reporting that Moscow has arrested two members of Ukrainian foreign intelligence that were part of a plot to sabotage power lines for Russian nuclear power plants in Leningrad and Kalinin.
