"France has taken note and is concerned over information of a new disconnection (from the grid) at the Zaporizhzhia plant," foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said.
Electricity is essential to operate pumps that circulate water to cool reactors and pools holding nuclear fuel at Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
The disruption came during a fresh wave of pre-dawn Russian strikes targeting energy infrastructure across the country.
The plant is being powered by generators, which can provide the facility's energy needs for 10 days, Ukrainian nuclear energy operator Energoatom has said.
The UN nuclear agency's chief warned earlier on Thursday of the danger of repeated electricity cuts at the site.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said it was the sixth time the Zaporizhzhia facility had been cut off from the electricity grid since Russia captured it a year ago, and the first time since November.
Grossi has been in consultations with Kyiv and Moscow for several months to try to set up a protection zone around the plant, but the talks appear to have stalled.
France "will continue to support IAEA action towards ensuring nuclear security and safety in Ukraine and in particular its director general towards establishing a protection zone around the station," Legendre said.
Russian strikes near Zaporizhzhia plant 'serious breach' of nuclear safety: EU
Stockholm (AFP) March 9, 2023 -
The European Union's top diplomat said Thursday that the Russian strikes in Ukraine, which caused the disconnection of the Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant from the grid, was a "serious breach" of nuclear safety.
The interruption of the power supply, which was restored by midday on Thursday, meant that emergency diesel generators had to be used to cool the plant, had "significantly" increased the risk of a nuclear accident, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
"This is a serious breach to the nuclear safety, caused by Russia," Borell told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting the EU's development ministers in Stockholm.
"Zaporizhzhia is the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe... and Russia is putting in danger the entirety of our joint European continent, Russia included," he added.
The strike on the plant came during a fresh wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine which killed at least nine people and led to power outages across the country.
UN nuclear chief raises alarm over power outages at Ukraine plant
Vienna (AFP) March 9, 2023 -
The UN nuclear agency's chief warned on Thursday of the danger of repeated electricity outages at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia power plant, after a new missile strike left it running on diesel generators.
Electricity is essential to operate pumps that circulate water to cool reactors and pools holding nuclear fuel.
"Each time we are rolling a dice," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told the agency's board of governors.
"And if we allow this to continue time after time then one day our luck will run out."
Grossi has been in consultations with Kyiv and Moscow for several months to try to set up a protection zone around the plant, but the talks appear to have stalled.
"We must commit to protect the safety and security of the plant," Grossi said. "And we need to commit now. What we need is action.
"Let me remind you - this is the largest nuclear power station in Europe," he said.
Grossi noted this was the sixth time that the Zaporizhzhia facility had been cut off from the electricity grid since Russia captured it a year ago, and the first time since November.
"This cannot go on," he said, adding, "I am astonished by the complacency -- what are we doing to prevent this happening? he asked, vowing to pursue his efforts.
The strike came during a fresh wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine which killed at least nine people and led to power outages across the country.
"The last power line between the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Ukrainian power system was cut off as a result of rocket attacks," the operator Energoatom said.
The emergency diesel generators can provide the facility's energy needs for 10 days, it said.
"The countdown has begun. If it is impossible to renew the external power supply of the station during this time, an accident with radiation consequences for the whole world may occur," Energoatom said.
Russian authorities that control the plant said diesel generators had been switched on following a "short-circuit" on power lines, without providing details.
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