Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses external power supply, Russian-installed management says

FILE PHOTO: A Russian service member stands guard at a checkpoint near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant before the arrival of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, June 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo

MOSCOW, Nov ⁠8 (Reuters) - The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear ⁠power plant in southeastern Ukraine has ‌lost its external power supply, the Russian-installed management of the plant said on ​Sunday after the Ferosplavna power ⁠line was ⁠disconnected by protective systems because of damage.

In ⁠a ‌statement posted on the Russian state-backed messenger app ⁠MAX, the plant's management said the ​Ferosplavna line ‌had been shut down by ⁠automatic protection ​and that backup diesel generators were supplying power to the equipment ⁠required for safe operation of ​the station.

"Staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are monitoring all operational ⁠parameters of the equipment. All necessary measures to maintain the safe condition of the power units are ​being taken in ⁠full," the management said.

Radiation levels on ​the site and ‌in the surveillance zone ​were normal, the statement added.

(Reporting by ReutersEditing by David Goodman)