Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
Europe's largest nuclear plant; Russian-occupied, " "operating on emergency backup power since 2022.
Last refreshed: 5 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Russia just licensed ZNPP under Russian law; does that mean it never intends to give it back?
Latest on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
- Is Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant safe right now?
- ZNPP is in cold shutdown but requires continuous external power for cooling. The IAEA brokered a local Ceasefire on 4 April 2026 to restore a backup power line, the latest emergency measure to prevent a nuclear safety incident.Source: IAEA
- Who controls the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant?
- Russian forces have controlled ZNPP since March 2022. Russia's Rostekhnadzor issued 10-year operating licences for two units in April 2026, treating the plant as Russian territory.Source: IAEA / Rostekhnadzor
- What would happen if Zaporizhzhia lost power?
- A total loss of external power at ZNPP would threaten the cooling systems for stored spent nuclear fuel and the cold-shutdown reactors. The IAEA has assessed this as the primary nuclear safety risk at the site.Source: IAEA
Background
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) remains the most acute nuclear risk in Europe. On 4 April 2026, the IAEA brokered a local Ceasefire to restore the backup 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 power line, the latest in a series of fragile agreements to keep the plant's cooling systems connected to the grid. Russia's state nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor simultaneously issued 10-year operating licences for units 1 and 2, a move Ukraine condemned as illegal under the terms of its own regulatory framework.
Located on the Dnipro River in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, ZNPP is Europe's largest nuclear facility with six VVER-1000 reactors and a total capacity of 5,700 MW. Russian forces seized the plant in March 2022. All six reactors have been in cold shutdown since September 2022, but spent fuel cooling and containment systems require continuous external power. The plant has lost its main grid connection multiple times; IAEA observers have been on-site since September 2022 under a contested monitoring mission.
The Rostekhnadzor licensing decision is legally significant: it treats ZNPP as Russian sovereign territory subject to Russian nuclear law, a position no Western government recognises. The IAEA has repeatedly called for a nuclear safety protection zone that neither Russia nor Ukraine has accepted in full.
