ZNPP briefly loses external power after drone strike on Nikopol substation

The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) temporarily lost external electricity supply overnight on June 3 after damage to a power line linked to a drone strike on the Nikopol substation.

Ukraine's state nuclear operator Energoatom said on Telegram that the outage occurred at 23:44 after the Ferosplavna-1 transmission line was disconnected, cutting off the plant's external power supply, Ukrinform reports.

During the blackout, all critical systems at the plant were maintained using backup diesel generators.

Energoatom said this was the 17th blackout at the occupied plant since Russian forces seized it, and the fifth since the beginning of 2026.

Citing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the company stated that the outage was caused by a drone strike on the Nikopol substation on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River, which led to the shutdown of the only remaining external power line serving the facility.

"Another blackout at Europe's largest nuclear power plant once again demonstrates the critical risks caused by the illegal occupation of the facility by Russian forces. Every loss of external power creates a direct threat to nuclear and radiation safety," the company said.

Earlier, Ukraine's Defense Forces rejected Russian claims that Ukrainian strikes had targeted the Zaporizhzhia plant.