According to Ukrayinska Pravda English, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant lost power completely when the last two high voltage power lines were cut by Russia shelling. Power for cooling the reactor sites is now being provided by diesel generators. Fuel on hand is estimated to last for 15 days.
www.pravda.com.ua/…
Al Jazeera is also reporting the story. The article quotes the IAEA on the danger of the plant being run only on diesel fuel generators:
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the plant’s latest switch to backup power further underlines “the extremely precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the facility and the urgent need to establish a protection zone around it”.
www.aljazeera.com/…
Power has been temporarily cut a few times since the Russians took over the area, but this time it sounds like repairs may not be made immediately. They are risks of meltdowns in power is off and the generators can’t maintain cooling. The Ukrayinska Pravda article indicated that Units 5 and 6 are in hot shutdown mode which means they were being kept at higher temperatures than cold shut down (below boiling point) and will need to be further cooled. Regardless, all the nuclear reactors need circulating water to stay cool and that requires electricity.
In the past the Russians have allowed repairs to electrical lines to be made. They have announced plans to incorporate the plant into the Russian system. Presumably that would be easier to do if the plant is functional and not on the edge of melt down. But Russian decision making doesn’t always seem to be driven by making the most rational choices. The Al Jazeera article notes the Russians are blaming the Ukrainians for shelling the plant’s power lines. The Ukrainians blame the Russians. I would think the Ukrainians have more to lose and would take care not to endanger the local residents. I suspect this is more nuclear chicken being played by the Russians.