NIKOPOL, Ukraine (AP) — The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the middle of the fighting in Ukraine was temporarily knocked offline because of damage to a transmission line. That caused a blackout in the region on Thursday and heightened fears of a catastrophe in a country haunted by the Chernobyl disaster. The plant has been occupied by Russian forces since the early days of the war. Ukraine alleges Russia is essentially holding the plant hostage, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it. Moscow accuses Ukraine of recklessly firing on it. On Thursday, authorities said the plant was cut off from the grid because of the transmission line damage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russian shelling and said the plant’s emergency backup diesel generators had to be activated.
Ukrainian nuclear plant temporarily cut off from power grid
