CBRN event in Ukraine on Thu 20th August 2026

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been without external power supply for over a week. This was reported by stated IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. The ZNPP is receiving the electricity required for safety from emergency diesel generators. According to the agency, the Zaporizhzhia NPP lost its connection to the last available external power line on August 20. Diesel generators provide electricity to, among other things, the pumps required to cool the six reactors and the spent nuclear fuel storage pools. The plant informed the IAEA that it currently has a diesel fuel reserve sufficient for about 10 days of generator operation. This meets the minimum regulatory requirement. "Without the restoration of external power or additional diesel fuel deliveries in the near future, the plant could face a total blackout in about ten days," Grossi said. The IAEA is attempting to negotiate the establishment of a local ceasefire zone that would allow for the repair of the "Ferosplavna-1" line and the restoration of external power to the ZNPP. Prior to the full-scale war, the plant had access to ten external lines. Loss of external power increases risks to the nuclear and physical security of the ZNPP, as the station is forced to rely on emergency diesel generators for an extended period. The IAEA also reported military activity near the plant and three drone incidents. One of them occurred on August 25 near the cooling pond and resulted in injuries to two ZNPP workers. On August 26, one drone exploded near the dry spent nuclear fuel storage facility, while another damaged a component of the spray system. Radiation levels at the plant remain normal. The IAEA also records air raid alerts and drone activity in the areas of the South Ukraine and Khmelnytskyi NPPs and the Chornobyl zone. Regarding the fact that the ZNPP It works. ...on generators became known on August 20. Prior to this, the IAEA...reported the death the so-called chief engineer of the occupied ZNPP in a drone strike. This is a machine translation of the original article in Ukrainian. It may contain errors.