Ukraine nuclear plant temporarily cut off from power grid in Russian shelling

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster after the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant got temporarily cut off from grid reportedly due to Russian shelling.

Zelenskyy urged International pressure must be put on Russia to withdraw its forces from the plant.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the middle of the fighting in Ukraine was temporarily cut off from the electrical grid Thursday because of fire damage, causing a blackout in the region and heightening fears of a catastrophe in a country haunted by the Chernobyl disaster.

The plant, Europe's largest, has been occupied by Russian forces since the early days of the war. The government in Kyiv alleges Russia is essentially holding the plant hostage, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of recklessly firing on the facility.

On Thursday, the plant was cut off from the grid for the first time after fires damaged a transmission line, according to Ukraine's nuclear power operator.

The damaged line apparently carried outgoing electricity and thus the region lost power, according to Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russia-installed governor.

As a result of the damage, the two reactors still in use went offline, he said, but one was quickly restored, as was electricity to the area. 

The line that was apparently affected is different from the one that carries power to run cooling systems essential for the safe operation of the reactors.

A loss of power in those supply lines is a major concern of experts warily watching the fighting. Still, Thursday's cut-off underscored concerns about the battles around around the plant.

Ukraine cannot simply shut down its nuclear plants during the war because it is heavily reliant on them, and its 15 reactors at four stations provide about half of its electricity. 

Still, an ongoing conflict near a working atomic plant is troubling for many experts who fear that a damaged facility could lead to a disaster.

That fear is palpable just across the Dnieper River in Nikopol, where residents have been under nearly constant Russian shelling since July 12, with eight people killed, 850 buildings damaged and over the half the population of 100,000 fleeing the city.