Two days after the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant lost all access to external electricity following Russian shelling, it was reconnected to power, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Nov. 5.
Both the Zaporizhzhia plant's external power lines and a back-up line used for electricity supplies from the grid were restored and reconnection started on Nov. 4, Grossi said, citing information he received from the IAEA experts at the site.
After the Russian attack on the evening of Nov. 2, the plant went into full blackout mode, and all its 20 diesel generators had to be switched on. According to the state nuclear operator Energoatom, diesel generators have enough fuel to last for 15 days.
Russia's strike on the last two high-voltage lines linking the plant to the Ukrainian grid was "another attempt” to make the Zaporizhzhia plant a part of the Russian energy system, Energoatom said.
Earlier on Nov. 3 Energoatom reported that Russian forces at the plant would try to connect the plant's communication lines to Russian-occupied Crimea, occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
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