The Ukraine today reconnected the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which has been seized by Russian forces, to the external power line after a brief outage that left it reliant entirely on generators.

Backup diesel generators were earlier activated at the station, located in southern Ukraine, to ensure the nuclear fuel was kept cool and prevent a potential disaster.

Each side blamed the other for the disruption. A local official installed by Russia said Ukraine had disconnected the power line, and Ukraine’s state-run nuclear power company Energoatom said the problem was caused by Russian bombing.

Announcing that the repair work has been completed, the Ukrainian company Ukrenergo said: “The station is restored to power from the Ukrainian electricity system“.

The incident had alarmed Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who said the plant’s nuclear safety situation was “extremely vulnerable” and underlined the need for international protection.

Although none of the plant’s six reactors produce electricity, its facilities remain connected to the Ukrainian energy system and consume electricity generated by it for their own needs, mainly to ensure reactor cooling and prevent a possible melting.

The plant, located in an area of ​​southern Ukraine held by Russian forces near the front lines along the Dnieper River, is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and has been repeatedly hit by bombing.

Energoatom said it was the seventh time the power supply to the plant had been cut since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine said the Russian attacks knocked out power to nearly 250,000 consumers in the Zaporizhia region, but power has been restored to most of them.

Ukrenergo said power was also restored to consumers in the Dnipropetrovsk region after overnight Russian airstrikes.