Mon Oct 06 13:55:20 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article summarizing and rewriting the provided text:
**Ukraine and Russia Trade Blame as Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Faces Blackouts, Raising Nuclear Disaster Fears**
*Kyiv, Ukraine* – Accusations are flying between Ukraine and Russia over the precarious state of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Europe’s largest, fueling fears of a potential nuclear disaster. Both sides accuse the other of attacks that are damaging crucial power infrastructure and threatening the plant’s safety.
Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged that Ukrainian strikes have severed a key high-voltage transmission line supplying power to the plant, forcing it to rely on emergency diesel generators. He warned Ukraine against “playing so dangerously,” hinting at potential retaliatory actions targeting Ukrainian nuclear facilities.
Ukraine, however, accuses Russia of deliberately shelling the plant’s power supply, including lines connected to the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant, whose containment structure requires continuous power. President Zelenskyy stated that Russian shelling cut the plant off from the electricity network.
The ZNPP, occupied by Russian forces since 2022 and currently shut down, needs a constant electricity supply to power its cooling systems, essential for preventing overheating of the nuclear fuel rods. A critical concern is the lack of reactor cooling water, further exacerbated by the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in June, which drastically lowered water levels in the reservoir that fed the plant.
Ukraine fears Russia is attempting to connect the ZNPP to the Russian power grid to supply energy to Crimea and other occupied territories, which have experienced increasing blackouts recently. Putin’s efforts could be a deliberate attempt to destabilize Ukraine grid system.
Greenpeace refutes claims of Ukrainian strikes, citing satellite imagery analysis showing no evidence of military impacts near the power lines. They allege a deliberate Russian act of sabotage intended to permanently disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian grid and connect it to the Russian grid.
The international community remains deeply concerned. Analysts have suggested a proposal, similar to one from the Trump administration, to place the ZNPP under US management as a potential solution. With ongoing fighting near the plant, the risk of a nuclear accident remains dangerously high.
First Piper 