The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine was temporarily cut off from the power grid on Thursday after fires damaged the last operating transmission line, state nuclear company Energoatom said. Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for bombings and other damage at the facility, which is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Russian forces initially seized control in March, but allowed Ukrainian staff to continue operations. A general view shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located in the Russian-controlled region of Enerhodar, as seen from Nikopol on April 27, 2022. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images) The Kremlin has resisted calls from Western countries to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect the plant, but Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to open the facility to international experts after a call last week with French President Emmanuel Macron . “Almost every day there is a new incident at or near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. We cannot afford to waste any more time,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement on Thursday. “I am determined to personally lead an IAEA mission to the plant in the coming days to help stabilize the nuclear safety and security situation there.” RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN ALLEGED SPIES FOR KREMLIN ARRESTED AT BASE IN ALBANIA AFTER GUARDS DROWNED IN CHEMICAL AGENT President Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, and the two leaders called on Russia to return control of the plant to Ukraine, according to a White House statement. This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies via AP) Ukraine is heavily dependent on nuclear energy, and the fighting in Zaporizhzhia could create a disaster, according to Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America.” “This is potentially a Chernobyl-type nuclear disaster in progress,” Koffler told Fox News Digital. “The nuclear plant has been bombed for days, if not weeks, with both sides, Russia and Ukraine blaming each other.” Three transmission lines at the nuclear plant have already been damaged by Russian shelling, according to Energoatom. The fourth and final transport line lost connection twice on Thursday but was back up and running, the IAEA said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Energoatom claimed last week that Russian forces were “planning to close the electricity blocks and disconnect them from the supply lines to the Ukrainian electricity system in the near future”. Paul Best is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @KincaidBest.
