VIENNA: The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine was reconnected to the grid on Saturday, nearly three days after a strike cut off its external electricity supply, the UN nuclear watchdog said.

Power was restored after repairs to a back-up line, carried out while a local ceasefire was in place, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a post on X. During the loss of external power, Europe’s largest atomic power plant had to rely on emergency diesel generators to maintain cooling for its reactors, the agency added.

The plant’s 19th loss of off-site power during the war between Russia and Ukraine, which began in February 2022, was caused by a strike late Wednesday on a substation. “Lasting almost three days, it was one of the site’s longest such loss of power events, underlining the extreme fragility of the electrical grid,” the IAEA said.

The agency previously said no release of radioactivity had been detected and radiation levels remained normal. The plant is now preparing to repair its main power line, which has been offline since March 24.

Zaporizhzhia lies close to the front line in southern Ukraine, and was captured by Russian troops in the early days of their invasion. Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of risking a nuclear catastrophe with attacks near the plant.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2026