Sybiha on blackout at Zaporizhzhia NPP: Russia preparing to ‘steal’ plant

According to Ukrinform, the minister wrote about this on social platform X.

The Foreign Minister reminded that as a result of Russia’s actions, the ZNPP has been without electricity for the fourth day. He added that this is already the tenth blackout caused by the Russians.

“The scariest part is that the Russian executives working on this plan are so eager to please their bosses in Moscow that they ignore any nuclear safety concerns. We have already seen this pattern of behaviour in 1986,” Sybiha wrote.

He noted that Moscow’s irresponsible actions over many years have created “far too many risks.” As examples, he cited deliberate strikes near nuclear facilities, including a drone explosion near the South Ukraine NPP this week and a drone strike on the Chernobyl Confinement.

“However, the Russian attempt to reconnect the ZNPP may be the worst yet, posing the greatest risks,” Sybiha warned.

He further stated that Moscow is actively trying to involve the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in this scheme to legitimize its seizure of the Zaporizhzhia plant. According to him, such a scenario leads “to an irreversible collapse of the peaceful nuclear order created by the IAEA.”

As Ukrenergo has also reported, Russian forces deliberately refuse to reconnect the ZNPP to external power supply.

“We demand that the agency adopt a principled stance. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant must be returned to Ukraine, its rightful owner. We urge all nations concerned about nuclear safety and security to make it clear to Moscow that its nuclear gamble must end,” Sybiha wrote.

As reported, on September 23 the last external power line to the ZNPP was disconnected. The backup line had already been cut by Russian forces back in May, and since then the occupiers have not provided security guarantees for Ukrenergo repair crews to carry out restoration work.

Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov