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Russian Nuke Plant Latest To Suffer War-Inflicted Damage

The Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant was damaged in a string of incidents at four facilities in the region over the past two weeks.

Howard Altman,  Oct 7, 2025, https://www.twz.com/news-features/russian-nuke-plant-latest-to-suffer-war-inflicted-damage

ussia’s atomic energy agency said a Ukrainian drone struck a cooling tower of the Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant (NNPP), located about 100 miles north of the border. While officials say there was no substantial damage to the plant, it was the fourth nuclear power facility in the region to have munitions land on or very close to it in the past two weeks.

Regardless of the level of damage incurred at NNPP, Russia is worried enough about drone strikes on its nuclear facilities that it is beefing up its defenses at a test site in the Arctic. You can read more about that later in this story.

The NNPP cooling tower was hit by a drone flying near the plant that was downed by electronic warfare, Russia’s Rosenergoatom claimed on Telegram. As a result, the agency said it hit the cooling tower of the No. 6 reactor and exploded upon impact. These structures are generally built to withstand light aircraft impacts

“There is no destruction or casualties; however, a dark mark remained on the cooling tower from the consequences of the detonation,” Rosenergoatom stated. “The safety of the nuclear power plant operation is ensured, the radiation background at the industrial site of the Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant and the adjacent territory has not changed and corresponds to natural background levels. Law enforcement agencies are working at the scene.”………………………………………………………………………………………..

Ukrainian officials have yet to comment on this incident, which took place as Kyiv’s drones frequently attack the Voronezh region. Despite Ukraine’s ongoing campaign against energy facilities in Russia, it is quite likely that this strike was inadvertent. Kyiv has been attacking oil and gas plants, not nuclear ones, though Russia claims it downed a drone in August that caused a fire and temporarily reduced the electrical output at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. However, we can’t tell for sure if either of these strikes was deliberate or not. Russia frequently blames damage from drone strikes on electronic warfare or air defense shootdowns, even if an intended target was hit.

It is also possible that the damage at NNPP was caused by Russian air defenses. These systems can fail, as you can see in the following video [on original] . Russia has also claimed that damage caused by failed air defenses was caused by enemy munitions in the past.

Regardless, as Ukraine develops newer long-range weapons with far larger warheads, even an accidental strike on one of these sites could have far greater consequences. You can read more about one of Ukraine’s newest long-range weapons in our story we published today here.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has yet to comment, but has expressed high concern about drones flying near the South (SNPP) and Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). 

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi issued warnings about ZNPP. That plant has been operating on backup diesel fuel generators since Sept. 23, after power lines were downed. Ukrainian officials claim Russia cut the lines on purpose, which Russia denies. ZNPP is inactive; however, pumps are needed to keep water cooling reactors so they don’t melt down. The power outage is the longest experienced by ZNPP during this conflict, Grossi stated.

October 10, 2025 Posted by | incidents, Russia | Leave a comment

Putin’s UnPeaceful Atom

atomic reactors provide “weapons for the enemy,” serving as pre-deployed weapons of mass destruction.

No atomic reactor anywhere can credibly claim to be immune

The fragility of instrumentation, operational, cooling, spent fuel storage and other vital systems have been amply demonstrated

Karl Grossman – Harvey Wasserman, October 6, 2025, https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/06/putins-unpeaceful-atom/

Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin last week eagerly confirmed that all “Peaceful Atom” nuclear power plants are fair game for military destruction and that the ensuing apocalyptic fall-out is not really his concern.

As Reuters reported, “Putin on Thursday warned Ukraine that it was playing a dangerous game by striking the area near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and suggested that Moscow could retaliate against nuclear plants controlled by Ukraine.”

The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia complex is, noted Reuters “Europe’s largest [and] has been cut off from external power for more than a week and is being cooled by emergency diesel generators.”

Zaporizhzhia was captured by Russian forces in the early days of the 2022 invasion.

The global crisis it now embodies was foreseen 45 years ago by Bennett Ramberg, in his book “Nuclear Power Plants as Weapons for the Enemy: An Unrecognized Military Peril.”

Ramberg holds a Ph.D. in international relations and a law degree. He’s been an analyst or consultant to the Nuclear Control Institute, Global Green, Committee to Bridge the Gap and the U.S. Senate and U.S. State Department. He now directs the Global Security Seminar. Published by the University of California Press, his book and a new edition out last year are beyond chilling.

And its grave warnings are playing out in recent years and today.

According to the U.S. government’s 9/11 Commission, the Indian Point nuclear reactors, 25 miles north of New York City, were potential targets considered for the September 11 attacks. Between 1984 and 1987, Iraq bombed Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant six times. In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, the U.S. Air Force bombed three nuclear reactors in Iraq. It gets worse.

As an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists put it last year, “small modular reactors, floating nuclear plants, and microreactors….these emerging technologies elevate concerns that wartime attacks could expose warfighters and civilians to nuclear fallout….Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has already set a dangerous precedent that could sway the course of future wars.”

William Alberque, former director of strategy, technology and arms control of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote in a piece on the website of the London-headquartered organization in 2023 that amidst “The wartime weaponization of nuclear power stations,” the “risks of a nuclear disaster remain high at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as Russia continues to threaten the health and safety of the entire region through its reckless behaviour.”

In the war on Ukraine, he adds, “a nuclear weapon state has decided that nuclear power reactors are legitimate targets and tools of coercion in war.”

Thus, atomic reactors provide “weapons for the enemy,” serving as pre-deployed weapons of mass destruction.

Amidst yet another billionaire-hyped push for a “Nuclear Renaissance,” atomic power—including large, small, and fusion reactors—has again faltered due to runaway costs and devastating construction delays. All reactors heat the planet at 300 degrees Centigrade, emit radioactive carbon 14, and can’t match flexible demand.

Most importantly, huge breakthroughs in renewables and battery efficiency have made them cheaper, safer, cleaner, faster-to-build, and more flexible, job-producing and reliable than both fossil fuels and atomic energy. In short, they have priced out fossil/nukes. More than 90% of the world’s new energy capacity is now Solartopian, comprised of carbon/heat and waste-free renewables, battery backup-up units and increased efficiency.

But the Ukraine war has now underscored yet another “Peaceful Atom” pitfall known for decades—the threat of a rogue nation turning atomic reactors into weapons of apocalyptic mass terror and destruction.

More than 400 commercial nuclear power plants are now licensed worldwide. There are 94 in the US. The destruction of just one, at Diablo Canyon, California, could send lethal fallout pouring across the entire continental United States, while first turning Los Angeles into a radioactive wasteland.

Putin has not estimated precisely how much radioactive fallout might result from blowing up an atomic reactor. But the war in Ukraine has made it clear that it could be done with a single drone costing less than $1,000.

Putin has asked just one question about such an attack: who will stop me?

The answer could be apocalyptic: no reactor, large or small, is anywhere immune.

When Putin sent troops pouring through Belarus into northern Ukraine in 2022, they quickly assaulted the smoldering remains at Chernobyl, which infamously exploded in 1986. The seething core of Unit Four has been covered with a $2 billion sarcophagus funded by downwind European nations.

The original explosion irradiated much of Europe. Airborne clouds were detected twice passing over the U.S., killing birds in California and irradiating milk in New England.

In “Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment,” published in 2009 by the New York Academy of Sciences,” lead author Dr. Alexey Yablokov, (environmental advisor to Russian Presidents Gorbachev and Yeltsin) drew from 5,000 documents. These included health data, radiological surveys, scientific reports, and more. The conclusion was that as of 2004, as a result of Chernobyl’s fall-out, some 985,000 people had died, mainly of cancer. In the two decades since yet more thousands have been stricken.

In 2022, Putin’s invading troops seemed bound to repeat history. They terrorized and tortured Ukrainian technicians tasked to safeguard Chernobyl’s melted core against another explosion.

Tragically, the Russian soldiers camped in nearby woods, exposing themselves to heavily contaminated dust and soil.

On February 14, 2025, a Russian drone severely damaged Chernobyl’s sarcophagus. Had it hit the melted core, another global-scale radiation release could have again contaminated much of the Earth.

Putin has denied responsibility for that attack. However, he has seized the six reactors at Zaporizhzhia. As at Chernobyl, his troops terrorized, tortured and terminated vital Ukrainian staffers, seriously endangering on-going plant safety.

Zaporizhzhia’s reactors are allegedly shut. But cooling water and backup/off-site power vital to keeping the cores and fuel pools from exploding are tenuous at best. Random munitions and at least one drone have hit the plant.

By cutting transmission lines into Ukraine while running one toward Russia, Putin may soon become Earth’s first autocrat to “steal” an atomic power plant.

He’s further threatened to turn any reactor he wants into a de facto weapon of mass radioactive destruction, saving himself the trouble and expense of a Bombs and missiles.

No atomic reactor anywhere can credibly claim to be immune. The fragility of instrumentation, operational, cooling, spent fuel storage and other vital systems have been amply demonstrated at Chernobyl, Fukushima, Chalk River, Fermi, Three Mile Island, Windscale, INEL, Santa Susanna, Khyshtym, and countless other stricken atomic facilities.

Chernobyl has shown the range and killing power of resultant fallout. Japan’s Fukushima, which exploded on March 11, 2011, has since spewed 100 times more radioactive cesium than did the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Its heavily irradiated liquid wastes are still pouring into the Pacific.

Though vehemently denied by the nuclear industry, the death toll from radiation releases at the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown continues to rise.

Meanwhile Ukraine deploys drones to decimate Putin’s oil and gas infrastructure, utterly ravaging Russia’s refineries, storage tanks, pipelines and more.

With his own drones, Putin has made clear he can target any reactor anywhere.

Safe, clean, green renewable energy technology now accounts for more than 90% of the world’s new energy production. No war monger can destroy a city by blowing up a solar panel or tearing down a wind turbine.

Yet Ukraine itself has four reactors on order, offering Putin still more pre-deployed weapons of radioactive mass destruction.

Likewise, California’s “anti-Trump” Governor Gavin Newsom keeps running uninsured, hyper-expensive nukes at Diablo Canyon that Putin could drone-hit tomorrow, forever bankrupting California, turning Los Angeles and the downwind nation into a permanent radioactive wasteland.

Deep in the bowels of the Kremlin, the nuclear Stalin is laughing.

Karl Grossman is the author of “Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power.” He is the host of the nationally broadcast TV program “Enviro Close-Up with Karl Grossman” (www.envirovideo.com)

Harvey “Sluggo” Wasserman wrote “Solartopia! Our Green-Powered Earth,” and co-wrote (with Norman Solomon, Bob Alvarez & Eleanor Waters) “Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America’s Experience with Atomic Radiation. His Green Grassroots Election Protection is aired via Zoom (www.grassrootsep.org) on most Mondays at 5 p.m. ET.

Harvey Wasserman wrote the books Solartopia! Our Green-Powered Earth and The Peoples Spiral of US History. He helped coin the phrase “No Nukes.” He co-convenes the Grassroots Emergency Election Protection Coalition at www.electionprotection2024.org  Karl Grossman is the author of Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power and Power Crazy. He the host of the nationally-aired TV program Enviro Close-Up with Karl Grossman (www.envirovideo.com)

October 8, 2025 Posted by | Russia, safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Is Russia’s Putin gambling with the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear stations?

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame, accusing one another of imperilling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Aljazeera, By Mansur Mirovalev, 6 Oct 2025

Kyiv, Ukraine – On October 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged that Ukrainian attacks had destroyed a high-voltage transmission line between the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine and Kyiv-controlled areas.

Days earlier, Ukraine’s leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russian shelling had cut the plant off from the electricity network.

The mammoth, six-reactor plant – Europe’s largest and known in Ukraine as the ZAES – sits less than 10km (6.2 miles) south of the front line. It has been shut since 2022, generating none of the electricity that once provided up to a fifth of Ukraine’s needs.

But dozens of Moscow-deployed engineers have frantically tried to restart it – so far unsuccessfully. Ukraine has long feared that Russia is trying to connect the power grid and quench a thirst for energy in Crimea and other occupied areas.

Putin purported that the alleged Ukrainian strikes caused a blackout at the plant and that it had to be fuelled by diesel generators.

The latest blackout at the plant is the longest wartime outage of power.

“On the [Ukrainian] side, people should understand that if they play so dangerously, they have an operating nuclear power station on their side,” Putin told a forum in St Petersburg.

‘The radioactivity is so powerful’

In fact, apart from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Ukraine has three operating power stations – as well as the shutdown Chornobyl facility, the site of one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters.

“And what prevents us from mirroring [Ukraine’s alleged actions] in response? Let them think about it,” Putin said.

His threat had apparently already been fulfilled a day earlier. Ukraine accused Russia of shelling that damaged the power supply to the colossal protective “sarcophagus” over the Chornobyl station’s Reactor Four that exploded in 1986.

Both the Chornobyl station and the plant in Zaporizhzhia need electricity for their safety systems and, most importantly, for the uninterrupted circulation of water that cools nuclear fuel.

The fuel, thousands of uranium rods that keep emitting heat, are too radioactive to be taken anywhere else.

In Chornobyl, the fuel is spent and submerged in cooling ponds or “dry-stored” in ventilated, secured facilities.

But at the Zaporizhzhia site, the rods are still inside the reactors – and are newer, hotter, and made in the United States…………………………………………………………………………………

The biggest problem is Russia’s failure to hook the plant to the energy grid of occupied regions as Ukrainian forces pin-pointedly destroy the transmission lines Russia is building – along with fuel depots and thermal power stations, he said.

“The Russians are restoring them any way they can, but Ukrainian forces very much prevent the restoration,” the engineer quipped.

Bellona, a Norway-based nuclear monitor, said on October 2 that a “greater danger lies in Moscow’s potential use of the crisis to justify reconnecting the plant to its own grid – portraying itself as the saviour preventing a nuclear disaster”.

Should Moscow do that, the step would only “worsen [the] strategic situation, give Moscow additional leverage, and bring a potential restart closer – a move that, amid ongoing fighting, would itself sharply increase the risk of a nuclear accident,” it said.

Analysts pointed to a deal proposed by US President Donald Trump in March to transfer the plant to US management as a possible solution.

Ukrainian strikes “will go on until Russia makes a peace deal that also includes US control over the ZAES and its operation”, Nikolay Mitrokhin, a researcher with Germany’s University of Bremen, told Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, in recent weeks, blackouts in Crimea have become unpredictable and distressing, a Crimea local told Al Jazeera…………..

Russia understands that improved power supply is a prerequisite for its efforts to restore occupied Ukrainian regions and conquer more Ukrainian land, said an observer.

Moscow needs the plant to “cover the growing [energy] consumption in the region, considering not just occupied Crimea, but also the occupied areas [above the Sea of] Azov. And also within the context of Russia’s plan to occupy part of the Zaporizhia region,” Kyiv-based analyst Aleksey Kushch told Al Jazeera.

Greenpeace said that its detailed analysis of high-resolution satellite images taken after what Putin alleged were Ukrainian strikes showed that he was bluffing.

“There is no evidence of any military strikes in the area surrounding the pylons and network of power lines in this part of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” the international environmentalist group said on October 1.

The images showed that the power towers remained in position and there were no craters left by explosions around the lines, it said.

Greenpeace concluded that the blackout at the plant is “a deliberate act of sabotage by Russia” whose aim is to “permanently disconnect the plant from the Ukraine grid and connect the nuclear plant to the grid occupied by Russia”. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/6/is-russias-putin-gambling-with-the-safety-of-ukraines-nuclear-stations

October 8, 2025 Posted by | Russia, safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Nuclear disaster fears as expert highlights ‘fragile’ Zaporizhzhia power plant system

Europe’s largest nuclear plant is on the brink of disaster if total power loss is achieved, with experts saying that it is a fragile situation that needs monitoring

 Ciaran McGrath and Zesha Saleem, 04 Oct 2025, https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/nuclear-disaster-fears-expert-highlights-36013152

A nuclear plant faces the risk of meltdown from it’s longest blackout since 2022, with experts cautioning about a single power line’s dangerous vulnerability. Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant lost its last connection to the external grid on September 23.

This makes it the 10th outage since the war began, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Since Friday, the plant’s six reactors were inactive as it remained in a cold shutdown, but it still needs regular electricity to keep cooling systems on for spent nuclear fuel.

The scenario was described as “clearly not sustainable in terms of nuclear safety” by AEA Director General Rafael Grossi during talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials this week.

Nickolas Roth of the Nuclear Threat Initiative think tank highlighted the fragility of the plant’s power infrastructure.

He told Express.co.uk : “For much of this year, the site has relied on a single functioning transmission line instead of multiple redundant connections.

“That creates a single point of failure: if that one line goes down, the plant loses the electricity needed to keep cooling and safety systems operating.”

The shutdown has been due to fighting near the location, with Ukraine accusing Russian forces of shelling the last remaining 750 kV power line. On Wednesday, a Greenpeace satellite investigation uncovered no major damage to the line, fuelling speculation of sabotage.

Moscow denied the claims. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described them as “stupid” and emphasised that Russia would not target a facility under its control. ZNPP is Europe’s largest nuclear plant, and was captured by Russian forces in March 2022 and formally annexed by Moscow following disputed referendums later that year.

While it doesn’t generate electricity, it holds tons of spent fuel that must remain submerged in water to prevent overheating.

Mr Roth explained the risks involved if there was a total power loss. He said: “A complete loss of power could lead to fuel overheating if cooling systems fail.”

He added that governments need to “develop plans to ensure the continuity of nuclear security operations during major crises,” including regular exercises practicing extended external threats.

Ukrainian nuclear safety official Dmytro Gumeniuk said: “The fact that it is running on diesel generators already represents a risk. Even if they are refuelled, this is still not a typical situation. Generators can fail, and they must be constantly monitored.”

Under Russian occupation, IAEA access to ZNPP has been restricted, which makes oversight difficult to achieve. The expert added that commitment to IAEA’s five principles on nuclear safety is important.

He said: “The plant should not be used to store or base heavy weapons or military personnel that could be employed for attacks. Off-site power must not be put at risk, and every effort should be made to ensure its availability and security at all times.

“First and foremost, Ukrainian reactor operators must be able to manage the plant without fearing for their lives and the lives of their families. They need safe working conditions and clear lines of communication with their national regulator.”

October 6, 2025 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Another ageing Royal Navy nuclear-armed submarine completes a 200-day patrol amid fears absence of replacements will make epic voyages ‘the new normal’

Daily Mail, By BY MARK NICOL DEFENCE EDITOR, 3 October 2025

An ageing Royal Navy nuclear submarine has completed a 200-day patrol amid fears of shortages of alternative vessels.

The Vanguard class submarine was welcomed back to port with her hull covered in slime and barnacles.

The marine growth indicated how long the submarine – which carries the UK’s nuclear deterrent – had spent submerged.

Nuclear submarines remain undetected by spending the majority of their time on patrol at very slow speed. This is to minimise their noise signature.

Biofouling as it is also known, can also indicate a submarine has been operating in either shallower or warmer waters.

Nuclear submarine patrols are being extended as Navy chiefs await new vessels.

This submarine was understood to have spent 203 days at sea. Earlier this year another spent 204 days at sea.

While only last year another Vanguard-class submarine broke the 200 day barrier for the first time. At least ten patrols are understood to have exceeded five months.

The trend for extended patrols is dangerous according to Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the recently retired former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS).

In his final speech he decried the decrepit state of the Royal Navy’s subsurface fleet at a time when the world is getting more dangerous.

In September Admiral Sir Tony said: ‘Our armed forces are not as strong as we would wish. There is something wrong when governments profess the nuclear deterrent at sea is our highest priority but our sailors are having to put to sea for extraordinarily long patrols in some of the most complex machines on the planet that are beyond their original design life.’……………………….

The oldest of the Vanguard class submarines first put to sea 33 years ago. The vessels have a recommended service life of 25 years.

The physical strain on the Vanguard class submarines is mirrored by the psychological effects on their crews of spending six months and longer at sea.

Each submarine has a crew of around 130 sailors and officers

Experts have also warned of the growing risk of a catastrophic accident as parts are being cannabalised from other submarines which are more than 30 years old…………………………….

The shortage of submarines is also compounded by the length of time it takes to conduct repairs.

The Vanguards will be replaced by Dreadnought submarines – but these are not expected to enter service before the early 2030s……………………… https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15159175/Another-ageing-Royal-Navy-nuclear-armed-submarine-completes-200-day-patrol-amid-fears-absence-replacements-make-epic-voyages-new-normal.html

October 6, 2025 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Money to oversee nuclear weapons safety will start running low after 8 days, Energy secretary says

The National Nuclear Security Administration will need to ramp back its work, which ranges from maintaining the weapons arsenal to international non-proliferation efforts.

Politico, By Kelsey Tamborrino, 10/03/2025 

Energy Secretary Chris Wright is warning that the agency within the Energy Department that oversees the safety and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile has only enough funding to operate at full strength for about eight more days because of the ongoing government shutdown.

“Eight more days of funding, and then we have to go into some emergency shutdown procedures, putting our country at risk,” Wright said Thursday evening on Fox News, referring to the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Prior to federal cuts imposed earlier this year, NNSA had more than 65,000 federal workers and contractors across the country responsible for a wide range of activities from maintaining the nuclear arsenal to international non-proliferation work and overseeing the U.S. Navy’s nuclear operations.

In its recent shutdown plan, the Energy Department said it would maintain the NNSA’s weapons-focused staff who operate “critical control operations systems,” as well as employees who work on tasks such as stemming the spread of nuclear weapons, but it did not offer figures on how many people that includes…………………………………………………………….

The shutdown poses the second risk this year to the NNSA, after cuts instituted by Elon Musk’s DOGE removed too many people, forcing DOE to call back some terminated workers at the NNSA. Those DOGE appointees were reportedly unaware of the NNSA’s role in overseeing national security………………………………………………………. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/03/nuclear-energy-nnsa-00592883

October 5, 2025 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

The 750 kV power line at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant shows no signs of major damage: new satellite investigation by Greenpeace

Greenpeace Ukraine,1 Oct 25, https://www.greenpeace.org/ukraine/en/news/4460/the-750-kv-power-line-at-zaporizhzhya-nuclear-power-plant-shows-no-signs-of-major-damage-new-satellite-investigation-by-greenpeace/

There is no evidence of any military strikes in the area surrounding the pylons and network of power lines in this part of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The investigation by Greenpeace is conclusive new evidence that the electric power loss at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is a deliberate act of sabotage by Russia. The aim is to permanently disconnect the plant from the Ukraine grid and connect the nuclear plant to the grid occupied by Russia.

1 October 2025, Kyiv…Former military remote sensing experts at McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS) have reviewed high resolution satellite imagery from 26 September 2025 supplied by Greenpeace. In their report (1), MIS show that there has been no shelling or attacks at the location of the 750 kV transmission tower. It is exposing Russia’s false claims that the loss of external power at ZNPP is due to Ukraine military attacks. McKenzie concludes that if there is any damage to the line at all, it is minimal and could be easily repaired. 

“Satellite imagery shows that Russia has deliberately sabotaged the external power line in an attempt to connect to the electric grid in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Russian disinformation and false claims of the cause of the damage have been exposed. Overall, the current loss of power at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is a deliberate act from the Russian side. A few months before, occupiers informed the IAEA that they have a plan to connect to the grid under Russian occupation if there is a loss of external power – they have sabotaged the critical line and thus created those conditions. Russia’s total disregard for nuclear safety and security must be called out and challenged by IAEA Director Grossi and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant must be reconnected to the Ukraine controlled grid immediately. Failure to call out and stop Russia will only lead to further escalation of the nuclear threat at the plant”, – says Shaun Burnie nuclear specialist Greenpeace Ukraine.

McKenzie assessed the area at the ‘damaged’ transmission tower which is located 1.9km to the northeast of the boundary at reactor unit 6 at ZNPP. McKenzie conclude that:

  • The vertical 750kV lattice towers remain in position and upright. It also appears to confirm that the horizontal gantry is still in place connecting the two vertical towers;
  • There is some uncertainty over a shadow in the image;
  • The suspension tower remains in situ. It is still standing and therefore it should be a relatively simple task to repair;
  • There is no evidence of any crater, either fresh or historic in the area surrounding the pylons and network of power lines in this part of the plant.
  • The Ukrainian policy is not to conduct military strikes on nuclear power plants, which further undermines the claim that it is too dangerous to conduct repairs to the suspension tower;

And finally, McKenzie concluded,

“An analysis of the wider area does not support claims of incoming shelling of the area.”

The MIS analysis supports Greenpeace analysis () published last week that the loss of external power to the 750kV transmission line was not a result of Ukraine targeting and shelling of the area. And, that if there is any limited damage to the transmission line at all, it is the result of targeted Russian sabotage and can be repaired in a short period of time.

Russian plan to connect to occupied grid and ZNPP restart reactor

Further evidence of Russia’s illegal actions at ZNPP are revealed in a Russian government communique to IAEA member states on 2 June 2025. The Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation, (INFCIRC 1295) says that,

“In the case of a complete loss of power supply, (a) “Procedure for voltage transmission to the own needs of a ZNPP from the unified power system of Russia in conditions of disconnected 750kV “ZNPP Dneprovskaya” HVL and 330kV “L-243 – Ferrosplavnaya-1” HVL, has been developed.”1

It is clear, according to the Russian government, that as of June 2025, Russia had a plan to use the loss of the 750kV Dniprovska line to connect ZNPP to the occupied grid. Three months later, the ZNPP was disconnected from the 750kV Dniprovska line. In its recent analysis Greenpeace documented Russian construction of new power lines and developments at the ZNPP cooling pond that could provide sufficient water for the restart of one reactor at reduced power.\

“Since 2022, Russia has used its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as a tactical and strategic weapon against Ukraine and Europe. By sabotaging the last remaining electricity line to the plant, they deliberately create a crisis, in order to use the threat of a nuclear disaster to gain leverage and influence. They must be challenged and stopped. There can be no future for Russia’s illegal occupation of the ZNPP. IAEA Director Grossi must declare that Russian plans for restarting any reactor have no possibility and the only way to remove the safety and security threat to the plant is to end the Russian occupation,” said Jan Vande Putte, radiation and nuclear expert at Greenpeace Ukraine.

Notes ……………….

October 4, 2025 Posted by | safety | Leave a comment

Power fully restored to Chernobyl site

The International Atomic Energy Agency says that power was restored on Thursday morning to the New Safe Confinement at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after 16 hours, following damage to a nearby substation. Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the loss of power to the Chernobyl site “once again underlines risks to nuclear safety during the military conflict”.

World Nuclear News 2nd Oct 202, https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/power-fully-restored-to-chernobyl-site

October 4, 2025 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Danger déjà vu

  by beyondnuclearinternational, https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2025/10/01/danger-deja-vu/

With offsite power cut, peril returns to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in war-torn Ukraine, writes Linda Pentz Gunter

We have been here before, nine times. External power provided by the grid has been lost, backup diesel generators have been called into duty, and Ukraine and the rest of the world has held its collective breath, hoping we are not about to witness another major nuclear disaster.

This is once again the situation at the six-reactor Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in southeast Ukraine, where for the tenth time external power has been lost. By September 30, that blackout had lasted seven days, the longest such stretch since the plant was first occupied by Russian forces on March 4, 2022, ten days after Russia invaded Ukraine and provoked a war that shows no sign of ending anytime soon.

Alarm is especially high at the Zaporizhzhia site given its size — the largest nuclear power plant in Europe — and enormous radioactive waste inventory of more than 2,000 metric tons. The plant has been embroiled in some of the worst of the fighting and has already suffered previous damage.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s other nine reactors at three other sites are by no means immune to the dangers of being caught up in an indefinite war zone. In late September, a drone detonated just 875 yards from the perimeter of the South Ukraine three-reactor nuclear power plant. Monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said they observed at least 22 drones close to the facility. 

“Once again, drones are flying far too close to nuclear power plants, putting nuclear safety at risk,” wrote the IAEA’s director general, Rafael Grossi in a September 25 statement after the drone incident. “Fortunately, last night’s incident did not result in any damage to the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant itself. Next time we may not be so lucky.” The IAEA nevertheless continues ardently to promote the use and expansion of nuclear power around the world.

Currently, all six reactors at Zaporizhzhia are in cold shutdown, which means less cooling is needed, but they are by no means out of danger. However, it is unclear how many members of the trained Ukrainian plant staff remain to operate the facility. According to an alarming new investigative report, Seizing Power, prepared by Truth Hounds and supported by Greenpeace Ukraine, numerous personnel have been abducted from the plant, interned and even tortured.

Cold shutdown means that fissioning in the reactors has stopped and the temperature of the reactor cores is below 200 F with the coolant system at atmospheric pressure. But this does not mean that further cooling is no longer required. 

The fuel inside the reactors remains hot and requires a steady flow of cooling water which is why power is still needed on the site. Failure to achieve this would mean the fuel rods would heat up the water in the core, causing it to boil away, exposing the rods. This could then lead to fires, which in turn could cause hydrogen explosions of the kind we saw at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March 2011. A meltdown is also still possible, although the time it would take to reach such a critical juncture is longer when the reactors are not operating.

The fuel pools, where much of the irradiated fuel is stored, also require continued cooling, although less so than the reactors, and risk the same outcome if cooling stops— a boiling away of the water exposing the rods and leading to a potential fuel pool fire.

The offsite power was being provided by the one still functioning power line into the site. Without it, workers have had to deploy backup diesel generators. There are reportedly 18 of these on site, with seven currently in use. But they cannot provide power indefinitely.

Accessing cooling water has also become more of a challenge. The Kakhovka Dam was destroyed in June 2023 leading to the depletion of the Kakhovka Reservoir, the vital water source for the Zaporizhzhia plant. Indeed, according Seizing Power, “the license to operate the ZNPP was premised on the availability of the Kakhovka Reservoir to supply water to the ZNPP and, in the event of an emergency, to function as a vital heat sink.” Instead, operators have been drilling for groundwater wells on-site in order to keep cooling water flowing into the reactors and the pools.

Of the 2,000 tons of radioactive waste stored on the Zaporizhzhia site, 855 tons are in the fuel pools and the rest in waste fuel casks. There are 200 different radioactive isotopes that could be released in the event of a disaster, an eventuality that could lead to both serious and fatal health consequences for those exposed, as well as longterm contamination of the environment and natural resources. 

Such a release would also have a devastating impact on Ukraine’s economy, given the country’s role as a major agricultural exporter. Known as the “breadbasket of Europe,” Ukraine’s agricultural products account for close to 60 percent of all exports, predominantly grains.

And yet, despite the on-going war, “Ukraine’s agricultural exports reached $24.5 billion in 2024, accounting for 59% of the country’s total exports,” according to January 2025 figures from the Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry.

It is a loss Ukraine cannot afford but we have of course seen this very outcome once before, after the April 26, 1986 Chornobyl explosion and meltdown in Ukraine that left lands in much of the former Soviet Union and parts of Europe permanently radioactively contaminated.

Operating a nuclear power plant safely, even in shutdown mode, can be jeopardized by multiple external factors, but how the workforce functions is also key. Both the Three Mile Island and Chornobyl nuclear disasters were the result of human error. When people are working under duress and especially extreme fear, mistakes become more likely.

That makes the revelations in Seizing Power all the more shocking. Researchers compiled their evidence through firsthand accounts from the residents of Enerhodar, the city where the plant is located and which was also captured on March 4, 2022. After resistance to the occupation failed, the report said, “Repression and violence quickly became systematic, targeting territorial defense volunteers, pro-Ukrainian activists, and ZNPP staff who refused to collaborate, among others.”

At least seven detention centers were established, said the report, where at least 226 Enerhodar residents and ZNPP employees were held captive, “subjected to physical and psychological torture to extract information, force confessions, punish dissent, intimidate, and coerce collaboration. Russian forces deprived detainees of food, water, and medical care, contrary to the provisions of international law. Torture, including beatings, electrocution, sexual violence, mock executions, and threats to family members of detainees, became routine.”

Why would either side gamble with such a lethal liability as the safety of a nuclear power plant, given the potentially drastic outcome whose resulting deadly radioactive plume would know no borders? Russia has accused Ukraine of damaging the power lines near the plant. The Ukrainians have in turn suggested the Russians are using the disabling of the plant as a threat to drive them into submission and cede territory in the east. The Russians have already signaled that they intend to use the plant to supply electricity to Russia once it is safe to restart the reactors.

That the war in Ukraine (and others elsewhere) must end, is stating the obvious. Human suffering around the world is already too great and entirely avoidable. Wars involving nuclear power plants ramp up the risks monumentally. But those dangers are also ever present, given nuclear power is inherently dangerous both on good days and bad.

As we watch ever greater militarization occurring here in the United States, with war declared by the White House on our own cities and “the enemy within”; with the abrupt and unlawful detentions and deportations of workers; and with the reckless determination to keep not only our aging nuclear fleet in operation but also to revive already closed and dangerously decrepit reactors; we, too, are one wrong move away from experiencing a nuclear disaster.

October 3, 2025 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Russian nuclear submarine: Fears as K-159 nuke vessel, that sank over 20 years ago, rusty and resting on seabed with highly radioactive fuel

By Isabella Boneham, Reporter, https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/russian-nuclear-submarine-fears-as-k-159-nuke-vessel-that-sank-years-ago-resting-on-seabed-5337748

The decommissioned Soviet nuclear submarine K-159 is still at the bottom of the Barents Sea after sinking more than 20 years ago.

In August 2003, the K-159 sank in a storm while being towed for scrapping. The submarine, which had been decommissioned since 1989, was in poor condition and was not defueled.

The submarine lies at a depth of about 246 meters in Russian territorial waters, near the entrance to the Kola Bay. Russia was soon to announce that the sub should be lifted, although it would be challenging due to the outer hull’s rusty conditions.

But nothing happened and Europe-Russia ties turned gradually colder. Researchers have since then monitored the wreck, fearing leakages of radioactivity from the two old nuclear reactors onboard could contaminate the important fishing grounds in the Barents Sea.

The K-159 still contains about 800 kg of spent nuclear fuel in its two reactors, posing a long-term environmental risk. The rusty hull is in a state of advanced corrosion, increasing the chance of future radioactive leaks.

A joint Norwegian-Russian expedition examined the site in 2014 and concluded that no leakage has so far occurred from the reactors to the surrounding marine environment. According to the Barents Observer, Lithuania-based nuclear expert Dmitry Gorchakov with the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center is worried.

He said: “There is a possibility of leaks, of course. Especially since K-159 was not prepared for flooding”. He underlined that so far, to his knowledge, “no leaks have been found.”

Dmitry Gorchakov says it one day eventually will be necessary to bring up the K-159. However, plans have been put on hold due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

He said: “In the current conditions of isolation, it is unlikely Russia will be able to conduct such an operation alone. There is no necessary equipment, and there may not be money for this in the budget. I think in the coming years they will depict preparations for the lift, but nothing more”.

Thomas Nilsen, editor of The Barents Observer online newspaper, previously described the submarines as a “Chernobyl in slow motion on the seabed”. In a BBC report, Ingar Amundsen, head of international nuclear safety at the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, agreed that it is a question of when, not if, the sunken submarines will contaminate the waters if left as they are.

October 3, 2025 Posted by | Russia, safety | Leave a comment

IAEA Races to Restore Power at Besieged Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant

Oil Price, By RFE/RL staff – Oct 01, 2025, 

  • Europe’s largest nuclear plant has been disconnected from the grid for over a week and is running on emergency diesel generators, one of which has already failed.
  • Ukrainian President Zelenskyy warned of a “threat to everyone” as shelling prevents the repair of damaged power lines.
  • IAEA head Rafael Grossi is mediating between Ukraine and Russia to restore offsite power, stressing that prolonged reliance on generators is unsustainable.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/IAEA-Races-to-Restore-Power-at-Besieged-Zaporizhzhya-Nuclear-Plant.html

October 3, 2025 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Suffolk County Council has no evacuation plan in case of a RAF Lakenheath nukes incident

Suffolk County Council has no evacuation plans in case of an incident
involving the US nuclear weapons which are widely believed to be held at
RAF Lakenheath, a Canary investigation can reveal. RAF Lakenheath nuclear
weapons: council has no evacuation plans in place. The base, which is owned
by the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF), but operated and managed by the United
States Air Force (USAF), was widely reported to have received a delivery of
US nuclear weapons in July 2025. The UK and US governments have a policy of
neither confirming, nor denying, the alleged locations of deployed nuclear
weapons.

 The Canary 30th Sept 2025, https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2025/09/30/raf-lakenheath-nuclear-weapons-2/

October 3, 2025 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Russian nuclear submarine surfaces near UK territory in ‘explosive hazard’

A Russian nuclear-powered submarine has been forced to surface in the Strait of Gibraltar after suffering a serious leak in its fuel system, with the vessel becoming an explosive hazard

William Morgan Reporter, Mirror, UK, 30 Sep 2025

International naval forces have been put on high alert following a ‘serious accident’ involving a Russian nuclear submarine, which was compelled to surface near UK waters over the weekend.

Further details have come to light about the incident in the Strait of Gibraltar, where the 74-metre missile-laden Novorossiysk became an “explosive hazard” after suffering a significant leak in its fuel system. Russian Telegram channels painted a grim picture of the situation on board as the stealth sub’s hull filled with diesel.

Despite the critical nature of the diesel-electric powered ship’s fuel delivery system, military bloggers alleged that no one on board had the training to rectify the problem and that there were no spare parts available. With the potentially nuclear-armed sub at risk of exploding in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, concerns were raised that the crew might start discharging diesel into the Mediterranean.

While the Russian Navy has yet to confirm the incident, open source ship-tracking software and eyewitnesses on the ground have observed a concerted effort from various military powers to keep tabs on the struggling submarine, which has moved west towards the Atlantic in the days since it was forced to surface………………………………………………………………………………. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/russian-nuclear-submarine-surfaces-near-35986816

October 2, 2025 Posted by | Russia, safety | Leave a comment

IAEA issues fresh warning over drones near nuclear plants

26 September 2025, https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/iaea-report-drones-downed-close-to-south-ukraine-nuclear-power-plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said drones flew within a few hundred metres of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, underlining the continued risks to nuclear safety from the on-going war. Meanwhile Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant continues to have to rely on emergency diesel generators after a loss of off-site power.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts stationed at the three-unit South Ukraine nuclear power plant were told that 22 unmanned aerial vehicles were observed on Wednesday night and Thursday morning within its monitoring zone, “some coming as close as half a kilometre from the site”, the agency said.

“From their accommodation near the plant, IAEA team members heard gunfire and explosions around 01:00 am local time and today (Thursday) they visited the location where one of the drones had come down, observing a crater measuring four square metres at the surface and with a depth of around one metre,” the agency’s statement said.

“Once again drones are flying far too close to nuclear power plants, putting nuclear safety at risk. Fortunately, last night’s incident did not result in any damage to the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant itself. Next time we may not be so lucky. I continue to urge both sides to show maximum military restraint around all important nuclear facilities,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

“For more than three and a half years, the IAEA has been doing everything in its power to help prevent a nuclear accident during this devastating war. We will only be able to say that our mission was successful if the war ends without a serious nuclear accident. Our indispensable work is far from finished.”

Meanwhile Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been without external power for more than 48 hours and has been relying on its fleet of emergency diesel generators. The IAEA said “the plant said it has the necessary spare parts and personnel to repair the line once the military situation permits. Ukraine has informed the Agency that it is also prepared to repair damages to a backup power line, when the military situation permits”.

Following the loss of off-site power all 18 available emergency generators started operating, with the number reduced to those required to provide power to the site – seven – helping to preserve the diesel fuel. The IAEA has been told previously that 20 days’ worth of fuel was stored at the site.

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been under Russian military control since early March 2022 and is on the frontline of Russian and Ukrainian forces.

September 29, 2025 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | 1 Comment

Flamanville fiasco: EDF blamed by the Nuclear Safety Authority

The French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR) has severely
criticised the crisis management at the EPR in Flamanville (Manche), which
has been shut down since 19 June due to a valve problem.

On 20 August, the inspectors subjected EDF teams to an unannounced exercise of “deployment of a local crisis means” (MLC), i.e. the replacement of one element of the
electrical panel with another to resupply batteries in the event of a total
loss of power supplies. As a result, the operator was unable to carry out
this operation, which was essential to avoid an accident.

In its follow-up
letter, the ASNR points to a “range of interventions that are not precise
enough”, agents “forced to question themselves on numerous occasions” and a
training follow-up deemed “perfectible”. Even more serious, some crisis
equipment requested by the inspectors could not be presented. “The
organisation of the Flamanville EPR in terms of crisis management and means
appears insufficient”, concludes the nuclear watchdog, an extremely rare
assessment in its usually measured vocabulary.

” I don’t remember such an
observation,” Guy Vastel, of the Association for the Control of
Radioactivity in the West (Acro), told Ouest-France. Yannick Rousselet,
from Greenpeace, believes that “nothing is right” in this report. EDF, for
its part, announced an “action plan” and assured that the findings “do not
call into question the availability of crisis resources or the site’s
ability to manage an emergency”.

Reporterre 10th Sept 2025,
https://reporterre.net/Fiasco-de-Flamanville-EDF-blamee-par-l-Autorite-de-surete-nucleaire


 

September 29, 2025 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

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