DISINFO: The Zaporizhzhia NPP is completely safe under Russian control
SUMMARY
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is under Russia's complete control. Currently, all systems supporting the plant are operating normally and are powered by backup energy sources. Earlier, Ukrainian forces damaged the Zaporizhzhia NPP's last power line. The Ukrainian Armed Forces' actions violate the fundamental principles of nuclear safety established by the IAEA and threaten the lives of millions of people. The plant had to rely on diesel generators.
RESPONSE
This is a gross misrepresentation of facts, part of a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about nuclear issues in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on September 23, 2025, suffered its tenth complete loss of offsite power (LOOP) during the conflict. The ZNPP has now been without external power, making it the longest of the plant’s ten complete LOOP events. It is currently relying on emergency diesel generators for the electricity it needs to cool its six shutdown reactors and other essential nuclear safety and security functions.
For over four months the ZNPP relied on a single offsite power line, down from ten before Russia’s full-scale invasion. This sole remaining power line was damaged approximately 1.5 kilometres from the ZNPP. The IAEA team based at the ZNPP has not yet been able to visit the damaged line owing to the military situation. Ukraine has informed the Agency it is ready to repair the backup power line once the military situation allows.
It is Russia that occupies the nuclear power plant and that prevents IAEA personnel and qualified Ukrainian specialists from repairing the last power line of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
The 69th session of the IAEA General Conference was held at the Vienna International Centre in Austria from September 15 to 19, 2025. During the session, IAEA Member States adopted the resolution "Nuclear Safety, Security, and Safeguards in Ukraine."
IAEA Member States called on Russia to immediately withdraw unauthorized military and other personnel from the ZNPP. The IAEA document reaffirms that the ZNPP and all Ukrainian nuclear facilities must operate under the full sovereign control of competent Ukrainian authorities.
The resolution underscores seven safety principles for the Russian-seized plant: a ban on attacks, a ban on using the site for weapons storage, and a guarantee of reliable off-grid power for all nuclear facilities. Six of these seven principles are continually flouted by Russia, with IAEA Member States reporting grave violations of nuclear-safety regulations by the Russian military at the ZNPP.
Due to the Russian military conflict, the ZNPP is operating under conditions not envisaged by its design. The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant by the Russian army in June 2023 destroyed the Zaporizhzhia NPP's main water supply for reactor cooling. The plant has experienced ten complete power outages and experienced a blackout, thus increasing the risk of a nuclear accident at Europe's largest nuclear facility. Ukraine and partners demand safe access for qualified Ukrainian workers to perform basic power-line repairs.
See similar disinformation cases claiming that the The IAEA is satisfied with the state of the Zaporizhzhia NPP under Russian control, that UK is supervising the preparation of a provocation at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant by Kyiv and that Ukraine may blow the Zaporizhzhia nuclear site up to cover up the failure of the counter-offensive.