The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been without off-site power for more than a week and is currently relying on emergency diesel generators, the UN’s nuclear watchdog said on Saturday (August 29, 2026).
The plant, which needs power to keep its six non-operating reactors cool, has only a ten-day diesel supply on site, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement. “The availability of diesel fuel is of paramount importance whenever a nuclear power plant loses off-site power,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. The plant lost its regular power supply “following military activity on the northern side of the Dnipro River”, the statement said. The Vienna-based group said it was trying to negotiate a local ceasefire to allow repairs to electrical lines.
On Friday, the IAEA said there had been three incidents this week involving drones at the Zaporizhzhia plant, injuring two employees, and raising renewed safety concerns.
