Nuclear Power Plant In Ukraine Disconnected From Grid Due To Nearby Fires

The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was disconnected from the grid due to fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces that sparked a fire at nearby ash pits.

"As a result, the station's two working power units were disconnected from the network," Ukraine's national energy company Energoatom said, according to NBC News. "Thus, the actions of the invaders caused a complete disconnection of the ZNPP from the power grid — the first in the history of the plant."

Meanwhile, Russian officials have blamed Ukrainian forces for damaging the transmission lines.

"As a result of a strike by the armed formations of Ukraine on power lines in the area of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the territory of the security zone of the 750 kV overhead line caught fire. The fire was provoked by a short circuit on power lines," Yevhen Balytskyi said, according to CNN.

Disconnecting the plant from the grid has sparked concerns of a potential nuclear disaster. While there are diesel-powered backup generators that ensure the reactors remain cool, they are unreliable. If they fail, the reactors could overheat and cause a nuclear meltdown.

"If something really went wrong, then we have a full-scale radiological catastrophe that could reach Europe, go as far as the Middle East, and certainly could reach Russia, but the most significant contamination would be in the immediate area," Paul Dorfman, a nuclear safety expert at the University of Sussex told the Associated Press.