A Russian attempt to connect the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the Russian grid in time for Vladimir Putin’s birthday earlier this month was thwarted by Ukrainian forces operating behind enemy lines, according to Ukrainian sources. The plant was instead reconnected to external electrical power from Ukraine on Thursday, ending a month-long emergency during which it relied on diesel generators to power cooling systems.
Ukrainian sources said they believed Russia aimed to link Europe’s largest nuclear plant to its grid on 7 October as a birthday present for Putin, a step toward restarting generation at the site. However, Ukrainian partisans attacked substations in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, damaging a newly built high-voltage connection to Mariupol and the Russian grid. This forced Russia to repair a 750-kilovolt line running across the Dnipro River into Ukrainian-held territory to restore external electricity supply.
Energy expert Volodymyr Omelchenko earlier told Ukraine’s Espresso TV that Russian occupiers wanted to “make a gift” to Putin, but a guerrilla operation on 6 October prevented it. On 7 October, Russian-appointed governor Yevgeny Balitsky reported power cuts across the region after what he described as a drone attack. The plant had been relying on backup diesel generators since the line was cut on 23 September, exceeding the standard three-day safety limit.
Although the six reactors are in cold shutdown, lack of cooling risked a slow-motion nuclear disaster over weeks. The plant’s Russian administrators announced the reconnection after Ukraine agreed to a temporary local ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called it “a rare good day for nuclear safety,” though the situation remains precarious.
Ukraine and independent experts have accused Russia of deliberately damaging the high-voltage line last month to justify reconnecting to the Russian grid. The plant, captured by Russia in March 2022, remains on the frontline. Russia has indicated interest in restarting some reactors and submitted a technical paper to the IAEA in June describing a procedure to transmit power from the Russian grid.
