FILE PHOTO: Service members walk near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant before the arrival of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo
KYIV — The fifth reactor of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was reconnected to Ukraine’s grid on Friday, a day after it shut down due to shelling near the site, Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom said.
“At present two reactor blocks are working at the station, generating electricity for the needs of Ukraine,” Energoatom said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that the fifth reactor had been reconnected at 1.10 p.m. local time (1010 GMT).
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, was occupied by Russian troops in March, but continues to be operated by Ukrainian engineers despite repeated shelling on its territory, for which Kyiv and Moscow blame each other.