Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on auxiliary power AGAIN

Russian missile attacks caused the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to lose all external power for the second time in five days. Energoatom said diesel generators were supplying the plant but Russian troops blocked a convoy carrying additional fuel. The weaponization of civil nuclear plants makes for an unstable world.

Deputy head of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Valeriy Martynyuk, has been kidnapped by Russian forces and is being detained in an unknown location, Ukraine's state nuclear energy company Energoatom said.

Energoatom called on IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to help free Martynyuk. Grossi met with Putin today.

Zaporizhzhia city remains under Ukrainian control.

External power to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was restored. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant lost its last external power source as a result of artillery and is relying on emergency diesel generators. The plant’s link to a 750-kilovolt line was cut at 1am Saturday. All six reactors at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant are shut down but still require electricity for cooling and safety functions. Each generator has fuel for 10 days. If the cooling system fails, it could lead to an uncontrolled heat build-up, a meltdown, and a fire that would release and spread “catastrophic” radiation across Europe. The facility has been under Russian control for months. Putin has designated the plant "federal property."