Ukraine N-plant loses power line; Moscow makes Europe sweat

A nuclear power plant on the front line of the Ukraine war again lost external power, U.N. inspectors said on Saturday, fuelling fears of disaster while Moscow kept its main gas pipeline to Germany shut to hurt economies of Kyiv's friends in the West.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest, had its last remaining main external power line cut off, although a reserve line continued supplying electricity to the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

Only one of the station's six reactors remained in operation, the agency said in a statement.


The plant, seized by Russian troops shortly after their February 24 invasion, has become a focal point of the conflict, with each side blaming the other for nearby shelling.

A standoff over Russian gas and oil exports ramped up last week as Moscow vowed to keep its main gas pipeline to Germany shuttered and G7 countries announced a planned price cap on Russian oil exports.

The energy fight is a fallout from President Vladimir Putin's six-month invasion of Ukraine, underscoring the deep rift between Moscow and Western nations as Europe steels itself for the cold months ahead.

"Russia is preparing a decisive energy blow on all Europeans for this winter," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Saturday, citing the Nord Stream 1 pipeline's continued closure.

Zelenskyy has blamed Russian shelling for an August 25 cutoff, the first Zaporizhzhia was severed from the national grid, which narrowly avoided a radiation leak. That shutdown prompted power cuts across Ukraine, although emergency generators kicked in for vital cooling processes.

Moscow has cited Western sanctions and technical issues for energy disruptions, while European countries have accused Russia of weaponising supplies as part of its military invasion. Reuters