Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe, is running on diesel generators again on Thursday after being disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid after Russian shelling.
Moscow has been in control of the large plant and its grounds shortly after its invasion of Ukraine started back in February. Russia had talked about reconnecting the plant to the Russian power grid.
The Ukrainian state-run power authority Energoatom said Russian shelling late Wednesday damaged the final two high-voltage lines connecting the plant to the Ukrainian power grid. Energoatom said the plant has about 15 days of fuel to operate independently.
"At 11:04 p.m., [Wednesday], the power plant went to full black-out mode," Entergoatom said. "All 20 diesel generators started operating."
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The company said although the plant's six reactors are shut down, power is still needed for cooling and safety operations.
"The countdown has begun. Due to the occupation of the plant and the interference of Rosatom [Russia's state nuclear energy company] representatives in its operation, the opportunities of the Ukrainian side to maintain the ZNPP in a safe mode are significantly limited," Entergoatom said.
Meanwhile, a Rosenergoatom official, which represents Russia, said switching the nuclear power grid to Russia has already started.
"After the arrival of the operating organization from the Russian Federation, work began on integrating the plant and the personnel themselves into the jurisdiction of the Rosenergoatom concern," Alexander Volga, the Moscow-installed head of the adjacent city of Enerhodar, said.
"The people who remained decided on the choice of the country in which they would live. Residents chose Russia as their place of residence, and place of work. ZNPP is already an integral part of Russia."
